Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World

by Brian J. Robertson

The role of rep link also serves a key function for every circle, and it’s not just a “second” link, but a different function from the lead link altogether. If the lead link is mostly a membrane around the cell, the rep link is a direct channel from within the core of the cell out through that membrane. He or she provides rapid feedback from the perspective of someone who really knows what’s going on at “street level,” and it’s the rep link’s accountability—not the lead link’s—to channel tensions out into the broader circle if they are seen to be limiting a sub-circle and can’t be resolved locally. For example, if the Social Media circle is having trouble effectively promoting the company’s products because the Marketing circle’s messaging guidelines are too much of a hard sell for the more conversational environments of Twitter and Facebook, the rep link can bring this tension to the Marketing circle’s next governance meeting. Here, she can propose a solution, such as adding an accountability to the Brand Manager role to consult a Social Media circle member when creating messaging guidelines.