---
title: "Governance glossary"
description: "Talkspirit uses specific terms to describe how your organisation is structured and governed. This glossary defines the key governance concepts you will meet."
category: getting-started
section: glossary-and-concepts
type: Reference
lastUpdated: 2026-09-23
locale: en
canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/getting-started/governance-glossary
---

# Governance glossary


This glossary defines the governance terms Talkspirit uses to describe how your organisation is structured and run: circles, roles, tensions, proposals, meetings and goals. Use it as a reference while you work in the Structure, Meetings and Goals apps. For general product terms such as groups, drives and integrations, see the [Platform glossary](/en/getting-started/talkspirit-glossary).

Your organisation can rename several of these terms (for example circle, role, tension and main role) under **Administration**, so the words you see on screen may differ from the defaults below.

## Structure terms

**Purpose**: The reason a circle or role exists, the intention that guides its work. For example, "Ensuring a smooth onboarding experience for new customers".

**Circle**: A unit of your organisation in the Structure module. A circle holds roles, sub-circles and members, and carries four core fields of its own: Purpose, Domains, Accountabilities and Policies. Circles nest, and the top one is the root circle. See [Circles in Talkspirit](/en/structure-governance/circle-overview).

**Role**: A named piece of work inside a circle, held by zero, one or several members. Each role carries the same four core fields as a circle (Purpose, Domains, Accountabilities and Policies) and clarifies who does what and who decides what. A role with no holder is shown as **Vacant**. See [Roles in Talkspirit](/en/structure-governance/role-overview).

**Accountability**: An ongoing activity a role is expected to perform. Write accountabilities as sentences that begin with an -ing verb, for example "Writing and publishing blog content".

**Domain**: Something a role or circle controls exclusively. Others cannot act within a domain without permission. See [Understanding Domains](/en/structure-governance/understanding-domains).

**Scope**: When several members hold the same role, the scope distinguishes who is responsible for which part. For example, "French leads" and "German leads" for a Business developer role.

**Member**: A person in your organisation, identified by their profile and the roles they hold.

**Inactive member**: A member who does not need full access to Talkspirit, such as an external partner or freelancer who only needs to view governance information.

**Main role**: A role flagged as structural for its circle, shown with a **Core** badge and pinned to the top of the circle's role list. Administrators define main roles at organisation level from role templates; the product ships no built-in set. See [Main roles and the Core badge](/en/structure-governance/understanding-core-roles).

**Elected role**: A role whose holder is chosen through a nomination and election process rather than direct assignment. Which roles are filled this way is set for each circle.

**Cross-circle role**: A role extended into another circle to contribute there, on a one-time or ongoing basis. The product also labels this status **Transversal**. See [Cross-circle roles in Talkspirit](/en/structure-governance/cross-circle-roles-overview).

## Governance process

**Governance**: The explicit, written rules that define circles, roles, purposes, accountabilities, domains and policies. In Talkspirit, governance is the process that lives inside the Structure module, and it evolves as your organisation adapts.

**Policy**: A rule that grants or limits authority over a domain. For example, a policy can let a Content manager publish on the website even though the Website manager owns that domain.

**Tension**: A gap someone senses between how things are and how they could be. Tensions are the raw input of governance, not conflicts.

**Proposal**: A formal suggestion to change the structure (roles, circles or policies), processed through a decision method until it is adopted or rejected. Any circle member can raise one, during or outside a meeting.

## Meetings

**Tactical meeting**: A recurring operational meeting to coordinate ongoing work, review projects and metrics, and process tensions. It focuses on operations, not structure.

**Governance meeting**: A meeting dedicated to changing the structure: creating, modifying or removing roles and circles, and updating policies.

## Goals

**Goal**: An outcome to reach over a time period. Goals can be linked to roles and circles.

**Key result**: A measurable indicator of a goal's progress.

## Related articles

- [Platform glossary](/en/getting-started/talkspirit-glossary)
- [Circles in Talkspirit](/en/structure-governance/circle-overview)
- [Roles in Talkspirit](/en/structure-governance/role-overview)
- [Administrator start guide for Talkspirit](/en/getting-started/start-guide-for-admins)
- [Member start guide for Talkspirit](/en/getting-started/start-guide-for-members)