Self Managing Team

Claudya Karamoy

Background: As a common practice, every team is tasked to establish common ground rules or code of conduct consisting of a set of acceptable and unacceptable member behaviors. This behavioral conduct is an essential element in building an effective team and it is implemented for the following reasons:

• Establishes shared team expectations and common understanding

• Promotes desirable behavior among team members

• Develops self-management of a team

• Provide a documented record of the team rules and regulations

• Aids new team members in imparting team standards and limitations

• Helps team members with behavior problems back on track

For all their potential benefits, successful self-managed teams are not without their problems. They can be difficult to set up, particularly if there is not a culture of using self-managed teams in an organization. For example, the team may find it difficult to interact with other parts of the organization because of their different working practices. Individuals new to self-managed teams may be anxious if they perceive that they may be given extra responsibility. Conversely, team leaders may feel that their role is threatened by having some responsibility taken away from them. Everyone may need additional training to give them the extra skills that they may require in their new team. There can be more redundant communication in self-managed teams because there is often no clear structure for communication, obtaining guidance or making decisions. Consequently, guidance may be sought from the entire team and decisions will be made by discussion, rather than by reference to a team leader who is empowered to make decisions, as would be the norm in a project or operational team. The team leader must provide an initial structure until the team has established its rules and norms. Finally, an ever-present problem with teams is that of ‘freeloaders’. If a member of a team does not meet their...