Problem:
The benefits of self-managed teams
Self-managed teams are beneficial to most organizations for the reason that this type of team has a general idea of the company's main objective and requires no further direction from management. Most organizations consider it a huge advantage to have a team that is resourceful and takes the initiative to complete tasks, find solutions to unanswered questions, and resolve conflict within the team without the inclusion of management or a mediator. Leaders of corporate America desire to have individuals, subordinates, or employees that are self-sufficient and reliant.
There are several benefits of a self-managed team such as;
- The ability to collaborate with the team on creative concepts with separate project execution:
o In some cases, working as a team can be problematic as a result of various personality traits or characteristics that differ in some areas. Therefore, teams that are self-managed provide a reprieve for team members who may be difficult to work with. For instance, a team will meet during the collaborative stage, delegate responsibilities, and separate in order to begin a section of a task. A primary example that comes to mind, is attending a team-based university in which case the curriculum is divided into two sections, individual assignments and team assignments. Teams within the university are primarily self-managed, they meet one day of the week, unless additional clarification is required, assign tasks to each team member depending on their attributes, each team member submits a work product by the specified deadline that was agreed upon by the team, the team reviews each team members contribution and determines if the project meets or exceeds corporate expectations.
- Ability to reduce workload
o Self-managed teams consist of individuals who are active participants in organizational practices. Each team member may be considered a top-tier performer because they are self-motivated and detail oriented. This type of team does not have to rely upon a charismatic, transformational, or transactional leader to encourage them to be productive. A self-managed team will make constant strides to be productive because they have an obligation to do so and not because they are being coerced or inspired to do it.
- Enhance productivity
o A self-managed team enables an organization to meet overwhelming consumer demands. Disseminate an even distribution of the work load in order to function effectively, thus eliminating potential short-handedness.
The changing role of leadership in self-managed teams:
Leadership within teams are more proactive in today's society rather than reactive. Teams no longer consist of a single team leader with a team of followers. In self-managed teams, each member has the potential to become a team leader, which all depends on the qualifications a team member may possess. A team member would normally operate out of their strengths, in which case each task may require various skill sets and/or attributes that can be discovered by the team's charter (documentation of team skills an attributes). The beauty of utilizing self-managed teams is the fact that collectively each team member's strengths outweigh's potential weaknesses.