converge · Decision Making, Meeting Management · 15–40 min · 3-15 people · low energy

Integrative Decision-Making (Holacracy)

A strictly facilitated process for adopting a proposal that resolves one person's tension. It has six steps: present the proposal, clarifying questions, reaction round, amend and clarify, objection round, integration. The facilitator tests every objection against fixed criteria, so only real harm to the circle's work can stop a proposal.

When to use Integrative Decision-Making (Holacracy)

Use when a team keeps reopening the same arguments and needs a way to make governance changes quickly without letting the loudest voice win.

What it solves

Proposals get talked to death because everyone feels entitled to redesign them.

How to run Integrative Decision-Making (Holacracy), step by step

  1. Present proposal: the proposer names the tension and the proposal (2-3 min).
  2. Clarifying questions: anyone may ask to understand it. The proposer may answer or decline (3-5 min).
  3. Reaction round: everyone except the proposer gives one reaction, in turn, with no discussion (5 min).
  4. Amend and clarify: the proposer may clarify or change the proposal, focused on their own tension (2-3 min).
  5. Objection round: each person says objection or no objection. The facilitator tests each objection against the criteria (5 min).
  6. Integration: find an amendment that resolves the objection and still addresses the proposer's tension, then repeat the objection round (5-15 min).

Materials needed

  • Proposal visible to all
  • A written list of the objection criteria

Facilitator tips

  • Stop cross-talk immediately. The process only works if each step stays in its lane.
  • Test objections by asking the questions from the criteria aloud: would this cause harm, or is it a concern you already had?
  • Remind the proposer they do not need to satisfy every reaction in the amend step.

Common pitfalls

  • Letting the reaction round turn into a debate.
  • Accepting predictions without evidence as valid objections.

Running it online or hybrid

Works well online: show the current step and the proposal on screen, and use a fixed order for the rounds.

What it produces

An adopted proposal and a record of objections and how they were integrated.

Origin

The governance process defined in the Holacracy Constitution, created by Brian Robertson and HolacracyOne. — source

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