--- title: "Adding, editing, or deleting a cross-circle role" description: "Invite a role from another circle into yours through a proposal or in Architect mode, and see what editing or deleting the invited copy changes." category: structure-governance section: roles-and-assignments tags: [permissions] type: Tutorial lastUpdated: 2026-08-05 locale: en canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/structure-governance/how-to-add-edit-or-delete-a-cross-circle-role --- # Adding, editing, or deleting a cross-circle role ## Adding, editing, or deleting a cross-circle role A **cross-circle role** is an existing role that a second circle invites in, so the same work takes part in both places. Everything happens in the circle that receives the role. This article covers the three actions; [Cross-circle roles in Talkspirit](/structure-governance/cross-circle-roles-overview) explains what the invited copy is and which roles can be invited. > **In summary:** invite a role by adding the **Invite a role** evolution to a proposal on the receiving circle. You cannot edit the invited copy, only the original role in its own circle. Deleting the invited copy removes it from your circle and leaves the original untouched. ## Before you start You need to be a **Decision Maker** in the circle that will receive the role, or an administrator. Members are decision makers of the circles they belong to unless that has been switched off on their assignment, so in most organisations the people already working in a circle can invite a role into it. You need nothing at all in the circle the role comes from. That circle is not asked and is not notified. ## Invite a role through a proposal This is the route for everyone who takes part in a circle's governance. 1. Open a proposal on the circle that will receive the role, or create one. 2. Click **Add evolution**. 3. Under **Change existing**, choose **Invite a role**. ![The Add evolution chooser open on a proposal, showing the Invite a role card described as "Invite an existing role from another circle as a linked role in this one"](/images/structure-governance/how-to-add-edit-or-delete-a-cross-circle-role/01-add-evolution-invite-a-role.png) 4. Pick the role you want. The list shows roles from other circles with their home circle underneath, and a search box appears once there are more than five. ![The Role invitation panel on a proposal, listing roles from other circles with their home circle under each name](/images/structure-governance/how-to-add-edit-or-delete-a-cross-circle-role/02-invite-a-role-picker.png) 5. Confirm to stage the evolution on the proposal. The role is not invited yet. Like every other evolution, it reaches the chart when the proposal is **adopted**. > **Note:** the picker also lists roles that cannot be invited, such as main roles carrying the Core badge. Choosing one fails with an error message rather than being blocked in the list. [Cross-circle roles in Talkspirit](/structure-governance/cross-circle-roles-overview) has the full set of limits. ## Invite a role directly, as an administrator Administrators can skip the proposal entirely. 1. Go to **Explore organisation** and turn on **Architect mode**. The toggle sits at the top right of that page and nowhere else. 2. Open the receiving circle from the chart or the directory so it opens as a panel, not as a full page. Architect mode's direct actions only appear in the panel. 3. Open the circle's **More actions** menu and choose **Invite role**. 4. Select the role and confirm. The role is invited straight away, with no proposal and no vote. ## Edit a cross-circle role An invited role cannot be edited where it was invited. Its name, purpose, domains and accountabilities belong to the original role and follow it, and the server refuses any change to them on the copy. To change any of them, open the **original role in its own circle** and edit it there. Every circle that invited the role receives the change. The **(invited)** suffix after a role name tells you which of the two you are looking at, and the original role's page lists its host circles under **Invited in**. The role page hides **Edit** on an invited role, but the circle's role list still shows it in the role's menu. Use it there and the change is refused, so go to the original role instead. > **Note:** older documentation described adding extra domains and accountabilities to an invited role so it carries a wider scope in the circle that invited it. The interface has no control for this today. ## Delete a cross-circle role Deleting the invited copy and deleting the original role are two different acts with very different consequences. **To remove the role from your circle**, delete the invited copy the way you would delete any role: add the **Delete a role** evolution to a proposal on your circle, or choose **Delete role** from the role's menu in the circle's role list. Only the copy goes. The original role stays exactly where it is, still assigned, still doing its work in its own circle. **Deleting the original role deletes every invited copy of it**, in every circle that invited it, at the same time. If several circles depend on that role, tell them before you delete it. Either way, deleting ends the assignments on the role that disappears, so its holders stop counting in that circle. Nothing is moved: goals pointed at a deleted role are not transferred to the original, so re-attribute anything you want to keep before you delete. ## What's next - [Cross-circle roles in Talkspirit](/structure-governance/cross-circle-roles-overview) - [How do I add a role or a circle?](/structure-governance/how-to-add-a-role-or-a-circle) - [Assigning or removing a member from a role](/structure-governance/how-to-assign-or-remove-a-member-from-a-role) - [How do I delete a role or a circle?](/structure-governance/how-to-delete-a-role-or-a-circle)