The idea of self-managed teams really intrigues me. In
theory, it makes total sense. Who knows their job and what it takes to do it
right than those who do it every day? Although my team is not currently
self-managed, I feel as though we could be if given the chance. We are all
subject matter experts and with training, I feel as though we can also
successfully manage our budget and identify new academic technologies for use
by our faculty and staff. My current supervisor leaves the day-to-day decisions
to us anyway (on the training team) and is a facilitator who helps us focus on
the ultimate goal, much like the external supervisor would be for a self
managed team.
Because the employees are the experts at what they do, I
think putting them into self-managed teams demonstrates that the organization
has faith in their ability to make the business successful. This confidence
motivates employees to continue to find better ways to do their jobs. Another
advantage to these teams is the reward system that is associated with them. We
all like to feel appreciated for the work that we do and knowing that an
individual reward is based on the success of our team makes us a better team
member. I believe that I would like working in a self-managed team. Working in
a group of people who know what their job entails and who are willing to work
with you to achieve a goal would be a pleasure. It would remove from the
equation interference from a leader who is making suggestion only on a
superficial knowledge of the job and the employee’s responsibilities.
One of the drawbacks is that management has to be on board
and that can be hard to do. In organizations with self-managed teams the
hierarchy is typically flatter (Brown, 2011). It is difficult for managers to let this happen and it is
even more difficult for them to step back and not be so involved in decision-making.
A related drawback is that when
you flatten the hierarchy of an organization, employees have little chance for
advancement (Brown, 2011). I know that one of my aspirations is to move up the
totem pole at some point in my life and working on a self-manage team would
make that goal harder to realize.
Becoming the external leader of one of these teams would be
a challenge initially. Learning to be a different kind of leader takes some
getting used to and having a mentor show me the ropes would be helpful. One
aspect of being the leader of a self-managed team that I find intriguing is the
interpersonal aspect of it. Leaders of these teams help employees focus on the ultimate
organizational and team goals. They can step in when there is a situation that
is out of the ordinary to help the team navigate through the issue. The rest of
the time, managers have the opportunity to develop relationships with team
members. I enjoy having positive working relationships with my teammates. I
look for ways to compromise when there is friction and attempt to ensure that
all sides are heard and understood. I see this as being an asset to a leader
managing these teams. I think that as for technical competencies like
communication skills and conflict resolution, I do a good job but there is
always room for improvement. I know that more work needs to be done on the behavioral
competencies like inspiring my team and time management. I have always
struggled with time management and hard fast deadlines
stress me out even though I work best when I have a specific deadline
identified. For this reason, I think mentorship would be necessary for anyone
leading a self-managed team.
Brown , D. (2011). An experiential approach to
organizational development. (8th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
(2008, Sept 28). Self-managing teams: debunking
the leadership paradox [Web Video]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBnR00qgGgM&feature=youtu.be
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