A self-managed team is a group of individuals
brought together in order to accomplish a task. Brown describes them as a “work
team of autonomous group whose members decide how to handle their task” (Brown,
2011, p 349). The members of the group are diverse in that they come from
different backgrounds and cultural experiences, which is a benefit of having a
self-managed team because each expert within their field of interest can bring
something new to the table. These experiences allow everyone within the group
to gain something even if it is just some useful information or how to
accomplish a specific ask. When a team is brought together they are “assigned a
wide range of tasks” from solving a problem to handling all of their
scheduling, budgets etc. These teams are not being micromanaged, but instead
independently managing one another through effective communication and goals
setting where everyone agrees and accepts the objectives.
Some of the many benefits I see in
self-managed teams are
that they are a support group for each other through the challenging processes
they encounter. Each member also acts as a motivator and encourager throughout
every step of the way, which fosters the trusting relationships needed in order
to accomplish the impossible. These groups are committed to one another and the
vision they are following. Because of their strong commitment as a team they
usually obtain rewards for their services that are designed specifically for
the type of team they are composed of. Each member is different than the other
and this brings an element of diversity and enables critical thinking to expand
to eliminate complacency. I see better decision-making taking place when there
are self-managed teams in place because each members brings that certain skill
to the equation to open everyone up to embrace change more willingly, which
also is strong because of the trusting relationships involved.
Some of the
draw backs of a self-managed team is there will be disagreements at times that
may require more counseling or mentoring form their leader to resolve.
Collaboration is so significant to the flow of this type of team which is very
similar to a family unit because there are always going to be disagreements
that will need to be worked out successfully. Another weakness would be if the
team was brought together and everyone involved was unsure of his or her
purpose or role because of the lack of leadership from upper management. Brown
identified some disadvantages as the organization in which they are working
with does not see a need for a change to occur, the team may not be appropriate
to the task, people and context, or the team can fail because the needed
training wasn’t available to them. (Brown, 2011, p 353)
Personally I
would love to work with a self-managed team because I work better when I feel I
have a say in what and how I am doing. Being told when to do something and how
to do it only makes me not want to participate because I feel like I am being
treated like a child, and I typically rebel against this type of treatment. For
example as a server in college I was constantly yelled at for everything I did
even if I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was a great employee I never was late
and I always had a good reputation with my customers. Although I was a server I
took the job seriously and wanted to make sure I excelled in any way I could.
The upper management at this restaurant lacked education and leadership
capabilities. They would yell at us just to yell at us and if anyone took it
upon himself or herself to resolve an issue they would have a problem no matter
the outcome because no one asked for their permission. This type of attitude
created disloyal employees who were always looking to screw them over because
they had hostilities towards them. Luckily I was able to find a better job once
I graduated and I have now experienced a more self-managed team atmosphere at
ERAU.
In financial
aid we are an independent group from the entire university because we handle a
different aspect of the enrollment process, we award funding needed to attend.
Our upper management does not have a clue how to do our job and I am pretty
positive no one wants to learn. Our real upper management is the department of
education as they set forth the rules and regulations we have to follow. This
alone makes us feel a sense of independence because it is our responsibility as
a group to stay up-to-date with what is going on, and then implement it. We as
a group go over ways on how to handle problems we encounter and try to be proactive
for future issues that may arise. Even though we are not setting our own
schedules, budgeting or anything of that matter we are able to independently
mange our time. For example when I come into work no one has laid out my path.
I walk in and decide what my priorities are and then I work towards
minimalizing them. I do not have anyone asking me what I accomplished that day because
they instead assume that I am getting my job done. If I ever I need help I will
try and resolve my dilemma with my fellow coworkers and if we cant we will then
go to the director. We have all of our days off listed in OneNote and we each
have partners that cover us so we never are having to put signs up on our desk
like other departments require. Our director trusts us to do our job correctly
and efficiently. The independence we are granted instills a sense of
willingness and commitment to make sure we go above and beyond what is expected
of us.
If I can one
day lead like I hope to I anticipate that I can create a self-managed team for
my employees because I have experienced the benefits that these teams offer. In
the YouTube Self-managing teams:
debunking the leadership paradox it was noted that these teams have the
formal responsibility and authority on how they will manage their work which leads
to a more flattened organization. These teams develop their norms and police
behaviors without the help of their external leadership. The only time an
external leader will step in is to help the team understand the goals and
provide them with flexibility so they can be guided to the end result. This
task does not involve micromanaging and creates an accepting environment with a
healthy balance of power. The external leader needs to act as a motivator and
coach to the team members as this will lead to reciprocated behaviors. This
knowledge I now have has allowed me to recognize my own positive experiences so
that I can reflect on the values a self-managed team encompasses for everyone
involved. I plan to continue to identify self-managed teams within my organization
as well as others and learn from each one so I can hopefully create my own
one-day.
References
Self-managing teams: debunking the leadership paradox
[Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBnR00qgGgM&feature=youtu.be
Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to
organization development (8th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.
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