A self managing team is a
team that has formal responsibility for structuring themselves and organizing
their work flow process. It is a contradiction of sorts because the team needs
to lead itself rather than be lead. This has many strengths, but as with any
team, it also has some drawbacks.
Because this leadership
style enables each member to develop leadership skills and to manage roles and strategies
the entire team is strengthened, rather than only those with the most responsibility
(Self-managing teams, 2008). Another benefit to self-managing teams is that many
of these self managed teams are formed with highly skilled individuals who have
excelled in their line of work, and already have some form of self-management
skills. Because of this, it would be more productive to have teams of self-management,
rather than to have a traditional external leader guiding each person in a less
productive manner than their already established strengths and skill sets. A
draw back to self-management teams is that mistakes happen often in the
beginning of it’s development (Brown, 2011). A solution to this is clear
guidance and displayed trust in each team member’s abilities and skills.
Being in the military for over
11 years, I personally take orders well and perform tasks given to me as
quickly and effectively as possible. The military has taught me how to excel in
leadership positions, while at the same time respecting and answering to
authority. In my opinion, this balance and structure has equipped me to potentially
perform well in a self-management team structure in the future, should the
opportunity arise. Because of this, I feel that I would enjoy it.
In order to be a part of an
effective self-management team one needs to develop certain competencies. For
example, being able to be highly self-motivated, and to have the ability to be
flexible in their perspective of getting to a particular goal with various and
often numerous ways is important. Being able to identify the unique strengths
and the roles and responsibilities for each team member is also important (Self-managing
teams, 2008). Determination and a clear vision is necessary, as well for this
type of team. In other words, if a team leader for a self-managing team sees
the vision clearly and communicates this end goal to the team members, he or
she must be able to step back and allow each person involved to do their work
in ways that may seem foreign or less productive (Self-managing teams, 2008).
Patience and trust in those within the team is challenging for most, yet
imperative. However, if there is an emergency or an unexpected event, the team
leader does need to intervene.
The relationships within
each team member and their leader is an important aspect of the self managing
team set-up. The members of the team should see the leader as more of a mentor
and encourager, rather than one to fear or answer to. While this could seem
like a lack of respect in the traditional sense of management teams, for the
self-management team, respect is fluent and flows in both directions.
References
Brown, D. R. (2011). An
Experimental Approach to Organization Development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Self-managing teams:
debunking the leadership paradox. (2008, September 22). YouTube. Retrieved
November 13, 2015, from Self-managing
teams: debunking the leadership paradox (YouTube - 8:10)
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