---
title: "Roles"
url: "https://rolebase.io/en/docs/circles-and-roles"
---

[Rolebase](/) ⟩ [Documentation](/en/docs)

# Roles

Understand how Rolebase unifies circles and roles into a single concept: the role.

## The Unified Model

In Holacracy or Sociocracy, the organizational structure is typically divided into two distinct concepts: **circles** (teams) and **roles** (individual responsibilities). In Rolebase, these two concepts are **merged into one: the role**.

A role can be a simple individual responsibility, or it can contain other roles. When it does, it acts as what traditional frameworks would call a “circle”. You can therefore use the terms “circle” and “role” interchangeably in Rolebase.

** Key insight**

In Rolebase, a circle is simply a role that contains other roles. There is no separate “circle” entity. Everything is a role.

This unified approach gives you maximum flexibility: any role can become a circle at any time by adding sub-roles to it, without needing to convert or restructure anything.

## Role Properties

Every role has the following properties:

Property

Description

**Purpose**

Why this role exists, its mission or reason for being

**Domain**

What this role has exclusive authority over

**Accountabilities**

Ongoing activities the role is expected to perform

**Checklist**

Recurring items to review (used in meetings)

**Indicators**

Metrics and key performance indicators to track

**Notes**

Free-form notes and documentation

These properties are the same whether the role is a simple individual role or a role acting as a circle (containing sub-roles).

## Creating a Role

1.  Navigate to the parent role where you want to create the new role.
2.  Click the **Add** button and select **Role**.
3.  Give it a name and optionally fill in the purpose, domain, and accountabilities.
4.  The new role appears as a sub-role in the org chart.

A role that contains sub-roles is displayed as a circle in the org chart, while a leaf role (with no children) is displayed as a simple role.

## Nesting: How Circles Emerge

Since a circle is just a role with sub-roles, the organizational hierarchy is built naturally by nesting roles:

```
Organization (top-level role)
├── Product (role with sub-roles = circle)
│   ├── Design (leaf role)
│   ├── Engineering (role with sub-roles = circle)
│   │   ├── Frontend (leaf role)
│   │   └── Backend (leaf role)
│   └── QA (leaf role)
├── Marketing (role with sub-roles = circle)
│   ├── Content (leaf role)
│   └── Social Media (leaf role)
└── Operations (leaf role)
```

** Holacracy / Sociocracy mapping**

A Holacratic or Sociocratic circle is implemented in Rolebase as a role containing other roles. The circle’s purpose, domain, and accountabilities are simply the properties of that parent role.

## Base Roles

Some roles are **base roles**, automatically assigned to all members of the parent role (circle). This is useful for shared responsibilities that every member should hold.

## Role Generation with AI

Rolebase can generate role suggestions using AI. Based on the parent role’s purpose and context, the AI proposes sub-roles with pre-filled purpose, domain, and accountabilities. You can review and edit the suggestions before accepting them.

## Members and Leaders

### Members

Members are assigned to a role directly. When a role contains sub-roles (acts as a circle), a person who holds any sub-role is also considered a member of the parent role.

### Leaders

A role leader (sometimes called a “Lead Link” in Holacracy) is a member with special authority over the role and its sub-roles. Leaders can:

*   Assign members to sub-roles.
*   Modify the role’s structure (when governance protection is enabled).
*   Represent the role in its parent role.

### Parent Links

A **parent link** connects a role to its parent, indicating who represents the sub-role’s interests in the broader context. This is a core concept in Holacratic governance. It ensures information flows between levels.

## Role Links

**Role links** enable cross-functional collaboration between roles that are not in a direct parent-child relationship. By creating a link, a member of one role can participate in another role’s governance and operations.

This is useful for:

*   Cross-team coordination.
*   Shared services or platform teams.
*   Temporary project groups that span multiple roles.

## Privacy Settings

Roles can be marked as **private**. A private role and its contents (sub-roles, meetings, threads, tasks) are only visible to members of that role. This is useful for sensitive topics like HR or finance.

** Visibility**

Private roles are hidden from non-members in the org chart view and in search results. Only role members can see and access private role content.

## Next Steps

*   [Add members](/en/docs/members) to your roles and assign them responsibilities.
*   [Run meetings](/en/docs/meetings) within your roles.
*   [Create tasks](/en/docs/tasks) and [threads](/en/docs/threads) to coordinate work.