Feedback Loops for Radical Autonomy
Radical autonomy requires deliberate feedback architectures to prevent drift, misalignment, or silent failure. The following loops form the minimal viable system for autonomy to scale across teams.
1. Role Clarity & Outcome Feedback
- Mandate Pages: Each role maintains a living document outlining:
- Core outcomes, not just tasks
- Decision authority boundaries
- Dependencies and interfaces
- Autonomy Scorecard (monthly or quarterly self-assessment):
- Progress on outcomes
- System-building contributions
- Peer collaboration signals
- Radical honesty (e.g., raised misalignments)
2. Peer-to-Peer Feedback
- Weekly Micro-Retrospectives:
- What I did
- What slowed me down
- What I need from others
- Sociocratic Rounds:
- Check-ins where each team member shares status/tensions in turn
- No direct responses unless explicitly requested
3. Systems Health Visibility
- Live Dashboards or Logs:
- SOP coverage
- Blocker resolution velocity
- Documentation and postmortem trails
- Departmental Maturity Reviews (quarterly):
- Clarity of roles
- Process readiness
- Delegation maturity
- Cross-functional alignment
4. Architect Meta-Feedback
- Weekly ARCH Ritual:
- Reflect on agency, clarity, results, and system health across org
- Delegation Signal Review:
- Did delegated projects scale?
- Were tensions surfaced *before* escalation?
- Did outcomes improve the system?
5. Knowledge Contribution & Decay Tracking
- DokuWiki as Knowledge Ledger:
- Roles document lessons, assumptions, and system changes
- Decay Alerts:
- Auto-flag SOPs or role pages untouched beyond X days/weeks
6. Tooling Friction Signals
- Friction Logs (embedded or linked in tools):
- Time lost, unclear paths, broken workflows
- Monthly Pulse Check:
- Trust, clarity, and speed ratings on internal tools
7. Intent Visibility & Decision Logs
- Decision Log Format:
- Who decided
- Why (context and tradeoffs)
- Implications
- Review date
- Quarterly Decision Revisit:
- Are assumptions still valid?
- Were outcomes as expected?
8. Tension Escalation & Integration
- Open Tension Channels (chat or wiki):
- Named or anonymous
- Reviewed weekly
- Proposal Loops:
- Tension → Proposal → Integration review (consent or iteration)
Optional: Micro-feedback Mechanisms
- Live role reflections in meetings
- Shadow logs for self-accountability
- Bi-directional peer coaching protocols
Maintenance Notes
- Each feedback loop should be reviewed semi-annually for:
- Relevance
- Participation quality
- Friction or misuse
- Loops are modular—adopt progressively but review as a system.