Farbenmeer has grown significantly in recent months – new colleagues, exciting projects, and a fresh breeze all around. But with this growth came new challenges: sometimes it wasn’t clear if everyone was on the same page, who to approach about what, or who was already pursuing a particular idea. Some initiatives were carried out parallel, started too late, or got lost entirely if it wasn’t clear whether someone else was already taking care of them. At the same time, several areas – from HR and contracts to project management – became much more professionalized. We quickly realized: we need a system that provides orientation without limiting our culture of self-organization.
The Task: Creating Clarity – Without Building a Formal Hierarchy
Many companies would now take the traditional route and introduce a classic hierarchy. But farbenmeer stands for equality, trust, and wide individual autonomy. So we looked for a way to assign clear responsibilities, make contact persons visible, and increase information transparency – without creating centers of power.
The solution we developed consists of two key components: Hats and Coordination Roles.
1. Hats – Focus on Fundamental Goals
A "hat" at Farbenmeer is not a set of tasks, but a responsibility for a specific goal. The person wearing a hat stays alert and ensures that the goal remains in focus. They don’t need a to-do list – just an overview, the courage to speak up, and the trust of the team.
One person per hat (proxys are nomminated by the hat-holders).
Alternatiobns are guaranteed due to regular election cycles.
Hat functions as a signal, not a tool for micromanagement – the hat draws attention.
We’re starting with three fundamental hats:
Satisfied & Healthy Team:
Ensures that (mental) health and satisfaction remain protected and alerts the team early on if workloads become too heavy.
Adherence to Our Values:
Checks whether we’re living by our shared values and gives friendly reminders if we stray from our course.
Achievement of Revenue & Profit Goals:
Monitors whether we’re on track financially and speaks up if targets seem at risk.
2. Coordination Roles – Sharing Overview, Enabling Action
Coordination roles ensure that knowledge is easily accessible and everyone remains empowered to act:
They gain a 360° overview of their area: key stakeholders, ongoing initiatives, unmet needs.
Share this overview regularly with the whole team.
Onboard new team members to their topic.
Enable others to take action – from offering tips to hands-on support.
Are elected at fixed intervals and responsibilites can be shared in tandem.
We’ve initially divided coordination into seven thematic areas:
People:
Salary model, benefits, job postings, employee development, health.
Legal:
Contracts, proposals, warnings, terminations, help writing and understanding legal texts.
Projects:
Capacities, needs, role assignments, project ceremonies.
Representation:
Events, marketing, networks, partnerships.
Infrastructure:
Offices, servers, services – from electricity contracts to hosting.
Finance:
Financial overview, accounting principles, payroll, budgets & purchasing decisions.
Orientation:
Values, rules, vision, goals, strategies – and risk assessment.
How the Launch Went
Our first election round was collegial throughout. The newly elected "hat-wearers" and coordinators brought their roles to life quickly: we now have clear wiki pages, regular short updates, and – most importantly – noticeably grater clarity about who to turn to for what.
