Misconceptions about self-organizing teams
At a recent conference, I heard plenty of conversations of three managers about self-organizing teams.
“You can't just take it and give free rein to people, and let the team decide everything by itself. They will spoil everything! Yes, and besides, all these Scrum-masters, coaches and self-organizing teams seem to leave me without work, ”said one of them with a doom in his voice.
“Time limits are a cool thing,” said another. "Throw them all into the room, give in to the heat and they will start creating," he argued.
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“Oh, so this means that I can shuffle people between projects and they themselves will simply team up and organize themselves. I can have moving Scrum teams on demand! ”Exclaimed the third.
Time to dispel some misconceptions.
№1. Self-organizing teams are completely autonomous, self-managing and do not need managers.
№2. All you need to create a self-organizing team is to set a goal and start applying pressure.
Number 3. Since the team is self-organizing, it can easily adapt to the fact that new people are added to it, and old people are taken away.
The fact that we use the term "self-organizing," rather than "self-organized" or "self-managed," has its own reason. It is used because self-organization is not something that is done once and for all, but a process and characteristic feature of a team. From the point of view of social systems, self-organization means that the team in its usual environment can adapt to new challenges and create new approaches to solving problems.
Self-organizing teams must have limited powers in making commitments, organizing and distributing their work. In order to fulfill their goals, they develop appropriate lines of conduct and make decisions, again within limited limits, regarding the impact on the economic and organizational components.
But they are not on their own, not divorced from their organization. Self-organizing teams exist to create a product or service that has value to the organization and its customers. They are responsible for making their achievements visible, as well as for adhering to the budget framework. Self-organizing teams can also, to one degree or another, be self-governing.
Leaders must create conditions that allow teams to grow and continue to improve self-organization. Managers need to work with the entire company to create a working system that allows teams to benefit customers and organizations. Also, managers need to work with the team in order to set appropriate frameworks and restrictions. Leaders continue to act, but as customers for their own company. For this reason, they still have to be involved in areas of activity that imply obligations of a legal or confidential nature.
I would not bet that this will be the case, and I do not advise you. Teams require a clear and obvious goal for their work. If not, then there is no point in creating a team. People to work as a team need both the technical skills required to do the job and the ability to get along with each other. They need resources such as development tools, access to information and training. And, of course, they need a way to communicate with the company.
The method of forming a team under stress will burn people rather than result in something comparable to the performance of a real team. You can not create a team simply calling the team a group of people, and subjecting this group to stress.
A time limit is one of the key points that can help a team’s success by targeting and focusing it. Work in limited time quanta creates a natural feedback rhythm and communication with the goal of the team. However, neither the time limit, nor the goal, either by themselves or together, create a team.
Teams need time to develop lines of conduct and trust, which ensure high performance. They need time to understand the strengths and weaknesses of everyone in the team, create shared knowledge, and learn to learn together.
If new people constantly come, then leave the group, this group will never be able to work out common approaches for solving problems and the total amount of knowledge, and therefore will not be able to outgrow the level of efficiency of the group of individuals.
Some teams, already after they have passed the period of formation and have developed an internal culture, become committed to increasing the number of team members. In this case, the best approach is to impose restrictions on the number of beginners at each time point. Changes in the composition of the team in excess of 30% lead to its "reset". Constant changes prevent the team from forming as it should.
As a leader, you can help the team take shape, keeping the team together for sufficient time and protecting the team from the entrance yard syndrome.
Self-organizing teams are not crazy teams. Like any other teams, such teams require both a clear goal, skills, information and enough time to form and show their potential. And they, all the same, need managers to ensure a friendly environment, setting appropriate frameworks and restrictions, and connecting the team with the company as a whole.
“You can't just take it and give free rein to people, and let the team decide everything by itself. They will spoil everything! Yes, and besides, all these Scrum-masters, coaches and self-organizing teams seem to leave me without work, ”said one of them with a doom in his voice.
“Time limits are a cool thing,” said another. "Throw them all into the room, give in to the heat and they will start creating," he argued.
')
“Oh, so this means that I can shuffle people between projects and they themselves will simply team up and organize themselves. I can have moving Scrum teams on demand! ”Exclaimed the third.
Time to dispel some misconceptions.
№1. Self-organizing teams are completely autonomous, self-managing and do not need managers.
№2. All you need to create a self-organizing team is to set a goal and start applying pressure.
Number 3. Since the team is self-organizing, it can easily adapt to the fact that new people are added to it, and old people are taken away.
Fallacy: self-organizing teams do not need to be managed
The fact that we use the term "self-organizing," rather than "self-organized" or "self-managed," has its own reason. It is used because self-organization is not something that is done once and for all, but a process and characteristic feature of a team. From the point of view of social systems, self-organization means that the team in its usual environment can adapt to new challenges and create new approaches to solving problems.
Self-organizing teams must have limited powers in making commitments, organizing and distributing their work. In order to fulfill their goals, they develop appropriate lines of conduct and make decisions, again within limited limits, regarding the impact on the economic and organizational components.
But they are not on their own, not divorced from their organization. Self-organizing teams exist to create a product or service that has value to the organization and its customers. They are responsible for making their achievements visible, as well as for adhering to the budget framework. Self-organizing teams can also, to one degree or another, be self-governing.
Leaders must create conditions that allow teams to grow and continue to improve self-organization. Managers need to work with the entire company to create a working system that allows teams to benefit customers and organizations. Also, managers need to work with the team in order to set appropriate frameworks and restrictions. Leaders continue to act, but as customers for their own company. For this reason, they still have to be involved in areas of activity that imply obligations of a legal or confidential nature.
Misconception: time limits force any group to become a team. Gather people together in a group, challenge them and they will form a team.
I would not bet that this will be the case, and I do not advise you. Teams require a clear and obvious goal for their work. If not, then there is no point in creating a team. People to work as a team need both the technical skills required to do the job and the ability to get along with each other. They need resources such as development tools, access to information and training. And, of course, they need a way to communicate with the company.
The method of forming a team under stress will burn people rather than result in something comparable to the performance of a real team. You can not create a team simply calling the team a group of people, and subjecting this group to stress.
A time limit is one of the key points that can help a team’s success by targeting and focusing it. Work in limited time quanta creates a natural feedback rhythm and communication with the goal of the team. However, neither the time limit, nor the goal, either by themselves or together, create a team.
Misconception: self-organizing agile teams must be adapted to frequent changes of composition. After all, after all, they can easily be reconfigured?
Teams need time to develop lines of conduct and trust, which ensure high performance. They need time to understand the strengths and weaknesses of everyone in the team, create shared knowledge, and learn to learn together.
If new people constantly come, then leave the group, this group will never be able to work out common approaches for solving problems and the total amount of knowledge, and therefore will not be able to outgrow the level of efficiency of the group of individuals.
Some teams, already after they have passed the period of formation and have developed an internal culture, become committed to increasing the number of team members. In this case, the best approach is to impose restrictions on the number of beginners at each time point. Changes in the composition of the team in excess of 30% lead to its "reset". Constant changes prevent the team from forming as it should.
As a leader, you can help the team take shape, keeping the team together for sufficient time and protecting the team from the entrance yard syndrome.
Reality
Self-organizing teams are not crazy teams. Like any other teams, such teams require both a clear goal, skills, information and enough time to form and show their potential. And they, all the same, need managers to ensure a friendly environment, setting appropriate frameworks and restrictions, and connecting the team with the company as a whole.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/127344/
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