10 Goals and Practices for Leading Teams: No 10. Learn to self-manage - together

Introduction

Full self-management in teams isn’t an easy thing to achieve.  Organisational expectations of leaders' responsibilities immediately reduces the opportunities for teams to self-manage - they don’t have the freedom to choose.   For instance, authorisations, performance reviews, and “I’d like to speak to you manager,” cultures all reduce the scope of what teams in organisations can do to self-manage.  To address the organisational level issues here, check out Laloux’s Teal Organisations. https://lnkd.in/d5zzKs7g

Yet within the limitations of typical organisations, what does it take to lead a self-managed team?

The Goal

For teams to increase their ability to self manage.

The Practice

Contracting as a team is key, and the way the contracting is done is vitally important.  Contracting allows the team to question its own rules and norms and agree to new ones.  Everyone in the team needs to take part.  To encourage self-management, leaders need to relinquish the control they have and entice the team to make decisions.  Asking someone else to facilitate the contracting session is an example of that.  Remaining quiet and listening is another.

Teams that self-manage learn from mistakes. As a leader, let them make mistakes, and use a review process to draw out the learning from that. Avoid the, “I knew it wouldn’t work” and instead focus on, “what didn’t work”.  Don’t rush to a solution before the team has agreed on what the problem is.  Then encourage them to explore new ways.

As a leader, act as one of the team - not above the team. If certain things can’t be changed (the authorisations, performance management process etc), explain that to the team, whilst seeking out what is changeable.

Contracting isn't done once. It’s done again and again. Reviewing agreements early allows mistakes and learning to be drawn out earlier. So agree to review frequently and keep the contract alive and organic - and owned by the team.

The more you do it, the more the team shares ownership of how they do things together. This tightens trust within the team and helps bring out the best in everyone, together, or the team purpose.

Links to the other nine Goals and Practices for Leading Teams:

No 1. Be clearer on the team's purpose

No 2. Appreciate team dynamics - and use them to team better

No 3. Let's ditch SMART objectives and replace them with OKRs

No 4. Empathise with our stakeholders - more, with skill

No 5. Don't motivate your team - create the conditions for them to motivate themselves

No 6. Make performance a team game

No 7. Agree on how to disagree

No 8. Don't delegate, or empower - coach

No 9. Let the team engage with uncertainty

No 10. Learn to self-manage - together