A635.7.3.RB - INSEAD Reflection

Brown (2011) explained that a self-managed work team is “an autonomous group whose members decide how to handle their task.”  Paul Tesluk explained, “instead of a formal supervisor having responsibility it’s up to the team to decide how they structure themselves and how they go about organizing their workflow and process” (INSEAD, 2008).  Self-managed teams are given responsibility to carry out all tasks associated with the completion of an objective. Self-managed teams are frequently given responsible for a wide range of supporting tasks, “including setting work schedules, budgeting, making job assignments, developing performance goals, hiring and selecting team members, assessing job performance of fellow members, purchasing equipment, and controlling quality” (Brown, 2011).   Self-managed teams are typically composed of from five to fifteen members that are skilled and knowledgeable about their area of expertise. Diversity of background, experience, and training ads value to the team.

There are both benefits and disadvantages to self-managed work teams.  “Companies favor self-managed teams as they offer cost savings and increased productivity, if implemented effectively” (MacDonald, 2018).  Greater productivity and cost saving are possible with self-managed teams because the team performs all of its own support functions. In addition, self-managed teams potentially make better decisions because they are made by the people who know the most about the work to be done.  Self-managed teams provide an opportunity for workers to experience greater empowerment and engagement because they are fully responsible for their work. I believe that being a member of a self-managed team provides the opportunity to experience greater job satisfaction by being more fully engaged in the work process.

Organizations that struggle to empower their employees may not experience success by implementing self-managed teams.  “The best-performing self-managed teams are found in companies where the organizational culture clearly supports decision-making by employees” (MacDonald, 2018).  Highly cohesive teams may lead to groupthink “when members’ striving for unanimity overrides their motivation to realistically appraise alternate courses of action” (Brown, 2011).  Team members may hesitate to offer contrary points of view if they feel they will not be accepted by their teammates.

The idea that self-managing teams need leadership can be confusing.  Paul Tesluk said “It is a contradiction; in some ways it is a paradox of how do you lead teams to lead themselves” (INSEAD, 2008).  Despite being responsible for determining how they plan and carry out their work assignments, self-managed teams do require external leadership.  However, the role of the external leader is different than a tradition leader in a hierarchical organizational structure. “External leaders provide the link between the wider organization and the self-managed team, empowering the team” (MacDonald, 2018).  Additionally, external team leaders act as “an energizer, teacher, facilitator by encouraging the team’s self-managing behaviors, learning, goal setting, creativity, self-evaluation, feedback to one another, new ways of problem solving, and group member problem solving” (Brown, 2011).  The external leader acts more like a coach providing vision and motivation for the team. Tesluk (INSEAD, 2008) indicated that an external team leader “develops team capabilities to be able to make decisions and understand how to best organize and structure their work, figure out how to manage roles and responsibilities, self police on norms.”

If I were given the opportunity to be an external leader of a self-managed work team the biggest obstacle that I would need to overcome would be the need to control many of the minor details.  Tesluk (INSEAD, 2008) indicated that one of the biggest hurdles for self-managing team leaders is the tendency to micromanage. He said it “is counterproductive for self-managing teams” for external leaders to direct and control every aspect of how their work is accomplished. Obolensky (2016) described the kind of leadership that is needed for self-managed work teams: “refraining from any action which is contrary to the underlying natural flow. . . . It means holding back and being watchful, ready to act when needed. It is the conscious act of not acting, or holding oneself back.”

I would welcome the opportunity to be a member of a self-managed work team.  I believe the experience would be fulfilling and help me to further recognize my strengths and weaknesses.  I feel that I would make a good team member because, according to the management assessment I took a few weeks ago, I tend to be very independent and I have a high desire for achievement (Nextsteps Research, 2018).  Additionally, I take pride in my work and feel that I am both skilled and knowledgeable about my area of expertise. However, I also feel that it would take some adjusting to a work environment in which little direction is given because I have always had a boss giving me tasks and instructions regarding what to do.

References

Brown, D. (2011). An experiential approach to organizational development (8th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

INSEAD. (2008, September 22). Self-managing teams: debunking the leadership paradox [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/GBnR00qgGgM

MacDonald, L. (2018, June 29). What is a self-managed team? Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/selfmanaged-team-18236.html

Nextsteps Research. (2018, June 5). Management assessment profile, candidate: Marc Clifford. Nextsteps Research, Alexandria VA.

Obolensky, N. (2016). Complex adaptive leadership: Embracing paradox and uncertainty (2nd ed.) New York, NY: Taylor & Francis