--- title: "Cross-circle roles in Talkspirit" description: "A cross-circle role is an existing role invited into another circle: what it inherits, who can invite one, and who can hold it" category: structure-governance section: roles-and-assignments tags: [permissions] type: Reference lastUpdated: 2026-08-26 locale: en canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/structure-governance/cross-circle-roles-overview --- # Cross-circle roles in Talkspirit ## Cross-circle roles in Talkspirit A **cross-circle role** is an existing role from one circle that a second circle invites in, so the same piece of work takes part in both places. The invited copy appears in the chart under the circle that invited it, marked **(invited)**, and stays tied to the original role it came from. > **In summary:** Inviting a role creates a linked copy of it inside another circle. The circle that invites decides on its own, the original circle is not asked, and the copy inherits its name, purpose, domains and accountabilities from the original and follows every later change to it. ## The same idea under several names You will meet this concept under more than one label. They all mean the same thing: - In the Structure module, the copy carries the suffix **(invited)** after the role name, both in the circle's role list and at the top of the role page. - On the original role's page, an **Invited in** section lists the circles that have invited it. - In the org chart's **Status** highlights, the colour for these roles is called **Transversal**. - In public pages, the organisation statistics widget and the role picker call them **Cross-circle roles**. The French interface says *rôle transversal*, which is where the older English wording "transversal role" came from. > **Note:** Your organisation can rename **circle** and **role**, so these labels follow the words your organisation uses. ## Who can invite a role Inviting is decided entirely in the circle that receives the role. Nothing is asked of you in the circle the role comes from, and the original circle is never asked to approve. Two routes lead there in the interface: - **Through a proposal.** Add the **Invite a role** evolution to a governance proposal on the receiving circle. This is the route for anyone taking part in that circle's governance. - **Directly.** Administrators can turn on **Architect mode**, open the receiving circle and choose **Invite role** from its menu. Architect mode is reserved for administrators and skips the proposal workflow. The server accepts the change from an administrator, or from a **Decision Maker** in the receiving circle. Members are decision makers of the circles they belong to unless someone switches that off on their assignment, so in most organisations the people already working in a circle can invite a role into it. ## Which roles can be invited Almost any role in another circle can be invited. The limits are: - A **core role** cannot be invited. The role picker still lists core roles, so choosing one fails with an error message rather than being prevented up front. - A role that is already an invited copy cannot be invited on somewhere else. - A role cannot be invited into the circle it already sits in, nor into the same circle twice. - Only roles can be invited, not circles, and only into a circle. - An invited role cannot be marked as hiring, and cannot act as the circle's link to its parent circle or to a sub-circle. ## What the copy inherits The copy takes the original's **name**, **purpose**, **domains** and **accountabilities**, and keeps them in step: editing any of these on the original updates every copy of it. Deleting the original deletes every copy with it. That is why **Edit** is not offered on an invited role. An invited role is edited where it lives: change the original in its own circle, and the change reaches every circle that invited it. The receiving circle can remove the role it invited by deleting the invited copy. Only the copy goes; the original role is untouched. ![The Product Development circle's role list in the Structure module, showing "Holacracy Coach (invited)" alongside ordinary roles Facilitator, Secretary, Lead Engineer and Product Designer](/images/structure-governance/cross-circle-roles-overview/circle-role-list-invited-role.png) ## Who holds an invited role An invited role is assigned like any other role, and its holders are not restricted to the people holding the original. - If the original role has exactly one holder when the invitation is made, that person is assigned to the copy automatically. Otherwise the copy starts empty and the receiving circle assigns whoever it chooses. - Removing someone from the original role also removes them from every copy of it. - Adding someone to the original role afterwards does **not** add them to the copies. Holding an invited role places an assignment inside the receiving circle. The holder therefore counts as a **Decision Maker** in that circle, unless that is switched off on their assignment, and takes part in its governance in the same way as anyone else holding a role there. ## What's next - [Roles in Talkspirit](/structure-governance/role-overview) - [Adding, editing, or deleting a cross-circle role](/structure-governance/how-to-add-edit-or-delete-a-cross-circle-role) - [Main roles and the Core badge](/structure-governance/understanding-core-roles) - [Assigning or removing a member from a role](/structure-governance/how-to-assign-or-remove-a-member-from-a-role)