This week’s discussion is all about the idea of self-managed teams. Obolensky brings on the idea that organizations should shoot for the goal of becoming what’s known as the CAS organization, one “where teams are formed, perform and then disappear as the need arises.” (Obolensky, 2010, p. 26). Self-managed teams are a small part of what’s compatible with this goal. This week I will discuss my ideas on self-managed teams by discussing benefits/drawbacks, my personal thoughts on being in such a team, and finally a competency that I will need in order to facilitate such a team as an external manager.
Self-managed teams have some benefits and drawbacks associated with them. One of the major benefits is that of autonomy, which is “the degree to which the job gives the worker freedom, independence, and discretion in scheduling the work and determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out” (Brown, 2011, p. 342). What this means is that members of the team are able to carry out tasks necessary without any sort of bureaucratic control. This enables speed and a sense of ownership over the task at hand. A drawback comes when disagreements form from within the team. I belong to a team of three members, soon to be two, and sometimes we’ll spend an entire day discussing small issues. This can lead to a lot of unproductivity where outside intervention may become necessary.
Currently, I do belong to a self-managed team and by far I love it. Granted, the team size is really small (three, soon to be two), however, the lack of leadership scrutiny allows us the freedom to go directions that we think is best. I do wish however we had more members, as I believe disagreements can more easily be solved, simply by majority rule as opposed to a head to head collision between two members.
One of the competencies that I believe an external leader needs to have is the ability to create what’s known as Level 5 followership for members within the team. This is where members of the team have a high level of skill and will (motivation) to complete a task, where completing the task becomes routine in their everyday work and updates are given to leaders simply for accountability purposes (perhaps by a weekly meeting) (Obolensky, 2010). However, to do this one may need the ability to groom the followers up to a Level 5 from any level below it (Level 1 through Level 4). Thankfully Obolensky highlights how to do this in Chapter 9 of his book, Complex Adaptive Leadership (Obolensky, 2010).
Discussed included a benefit and a drawback for self-managed teams, how I belong to one, and finally a competency an external leader may need in order to facilitate such a team. I’m glad that the question was asked on how we, as an external manager, can create the environment that supports such a team, because it’s that very position that I hope to be in one day. Or perhaps at the very least be the consultant that suggests such a thing!
References
Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (Eighth Edition ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Obolensky, N. (2010). Complex adaptive leadership (Second Edition ed.). London, UK: Gower/Ashgate.
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