#favouritemodel No. 33 – Building and leading self-organized teams

The more complex the tasks, the more disruptive the industry and the more unpredictable the day-to-day work, the more important self-organized teamwork becomes. This is because traditional, hierarchical management is simply too rigid and too slow – in addition to many other stumbling blocks that it brings with it in the VUCA world.

Managers cannot react to every new development within a project without getting bogged down. It is therefore not surprising that even managers who do not (yet) know what exactly characterizes self-organized teams would like to have them. But what does it mean when teams organize themselves? How can managers provide support? What are the advantages of self-organized teams and are there any disadvantages?

What is a self-organized team?

Self-organized work in teams is one of the basic principles of the Agile Manifesto and an irreplaceable building block in agile organizational development. Self-organized teams are therefore also referred to as agile teams and vice versa. They form their own cosmos that can function autonomously. Control and responsibility are distributed across many shoulders. The degree of self-organization varies and is never “black and white” or “yes-no”. In general terms, one could differentiate between three levels:

At the lowest level, team members decide independently how best to do their work. The focus is on the “how”.
At the second level, the teams also decide on the quality of the work content, i.e. they set their own standards and monitor themselves.
At the third level, the team acts independently and entrepreneurially and decides on its own work content, goals and the type of processing. The management roles are divided flexibly between different people.

It is important to note that these levels are not meant to be a judgmental classification or a ladder that a company or team must climb. Depending on the company or team context, a different level of self-organization is appropriate. The crucial question is therefore always: How much self-organization is good for a company and how much is necessary at all?

Characteristics of self-organized, agile teams

There is no standardized and rigid definition (and it would not fit with agility). However, it can be stated: An agile team is self-managing and follows a common vision. It makes the decisions necessary for operational processes independently. The underlying idea of self-organization is that decisions are made where the skills are available. Because all those involved are included in the decision-making process, everyone is familiar with the arguments and the pros and cons and supports the decisions (which is often not the case with hierarchical decisions). Empathy in communication and mutual support and cooperation characterize the behavior of such teams.

Buurtzorg is a well-known example of self-organized teams. The non-profit organization was founded in 2006 by Jos de Blok and four colleagues as a counterexample to the ineffective healthcare system in the Netherlands. Their mottos are “Humanity before bureaucracy” and “We don’t deliver care, we solve problems”.

At Buurtzorg, there are self-organized care teams without hierarchies, which can decide independently on budgets and new hires, among other things. Although the costs per hour have increased as a result of the self-organized system, fewer hours are required to care for people overall. It has been calculated that the healthcare system in the Netherlands could save 40% of current costs if it were to adopt the Buurtzorg system. Buurtzorg started a pilot phase in Germany in 2018, but had to withdraw at the beginning of 2022. The example shows: The development of self-organized work structures requires the investment of time and patience, especially if long-established structures are to be changed. This form of collaboration does not come about by being “ordered”, and it needs the right framework conditions to germinate, grow and flourish.

Which corporate culture favors agile teams?

Culture of trust: Employees can make their own decisions within a predefined framework. Decisions are made more quickly and the trust placed in employees also increases their motivation.
Error culture: away from looking for culprits towards error awareness, error acceptance, neutral error communication, freedom from sanctions, joint error analysis and changing behavior and circumstances.
Feedback culture: Giving feedback in an appreciative manner supports the development of individuals, teams and the organization, because companies also have their own “blind spots”.
There should be maximum transparency in decisions and processes.

Key aspects of leadership culture for agile teams

The development of a clear leadership model with concrete behavioral patterns: The manager becomes more of a team developer and has a coordinating and moderating role.
Culture of getting things done and moving things forward: As a manager, goals are embodied and networking is driven forward. This breaks down silos and shares knowledge.
Joint further training (team workshops) in the interaction between manager and team on issues of cooperation, leadership and professional scope.
Employee skills such as communication skills should be strengthened.
The meaning and purpose of the tasks must be understood and accepted by the team.

Not to be underestimated: Mental health in the team

An environment in which everyone can perform at their best: clear rules of cooperation create security. At the same time, a culture of psychological safety, in which managers and team colleagues adapt their social interaction to the psychological needs of the team, supports the success of self-organized cooperation.

In order to be able to work in a self-determined and self-effective manner, people need to be mentally fit and able to regulate their emotions well. This applies to employees as well as managers. For the latter, it is often particularly challenging to let go, as inner voices can raise unpleasant questions such as “Who am I if I let my team decide?” or “Am I up to the new management culture?”

It also seems important to me to point out that hierarchies and self-organized work are not contradictory per se. Self-organized work can also function in structures with hierarchical management. Every manager must decide for themselves what degree of self-organized and autonomous work is suitable for their area.

How does my #favoritemodel help you?

The advantages of self-organized work and agile teams are evident throughout the entire company

Agile teams are flexible and fast. They work efficiently and autonomously, long feedback loops and faltering workflows are a thing of the past and no longer a burden on your company.

When employees are involved in decision-making processes and not only know the meaning and purpose behind their work, but also support it, this generally boosts their motivation to work together. .

Shared responsibility means that optimization approaches in the company become visible more quickly – and can be implemented more efficiently.

You should also pay particular attention to the critical facets of this type of collaboration, because as with all things, this agile methodology depends on the right balance. Too much freedom can lead to overloading the team and the organization. Teams that frequently change in terms of their composition always need a new orientation phase, which can be exhausting and stressful for the team members.

The degree of self-organization always depends on the company and its individual requirements. Agile is not just agile, but can and should be flexibly adapted to the needs of your organization so that everyone benefits. Every manager must decide for their team and their company how high the degree of self-organization should be and in which steps this is achieved in order to be able to work efficiently. An initial basis for this can be an inventory of your organization:

Where does the team stand now?
How much agility and self-organization is desired? And why?
What would be the consequences of increased self-organization of the individual teams?
Is the organization already bearing these consequences?

Feel free to write to me via our contact form if you are interested in consulting or training on the topic of self-organized work and would like to exchange ideas.