Understanding self-organizing teams

What is a self-organizing team?

A self-organizing team is a group of colleagues with a shared goal and know how to achieve it, via their own decisions about how to best manage and complete work.

Instead of waiting for a project manager to sign off on brainstormed ideas, or waiting for further directions, self-organizing teams can identify what tasks need to be done and when, while setting their own deadlines.

This approach can eliminate the extra time needed for responses and save a company money. While there is always project oversight in any company, self-organizing teams are empowered to make decisions, manage their work, and adapt to changes without direct (or meddling) oversight.

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Characteristics of self-organizing teams

Self-organizing teams thrive on collaboration, trust, and collective responsibility.

Collaboration

Decisions are made collectively, drawing on the diverse skills and insights of team members. This collaboration among individuals with varied expertise leads to richer, more comprehensive solutions. What’s more, every team member is accountable for the team’s success, fostering a sense of collective ownership and motivation.

Autonomy

When teams are driven by intrinsic motivation rather than external directives, they have more room to decide how to accomplish tasks. This fosters out-of-the-box thinking and other innovative solutions that might not be as straightforward when having to go through managerial approval.

Adaptability

Agile and flexible, teams can quickly respond to changes, adjust strategies, and pivot to meet evolving needs or challenges. Since projects will always come with unforeseen snags, teams can swiftly adapt without waiting for directives to come in from those not directly involved with the team.

Continuous improvement

Teams regularly evaluate their processes, seeking ways to enhance efficiency and productivity. And with this level of autonomy can arise a sense of ownership and pride in accomplishments, boosting team morale and satisfaction.

Emphasis on quality

Perhaps a self-organizing team is a rare or new occurrence in an organization. This naturally suggests that self-organizing teams have something to prove in an organization: therefore, there is a greater chance that a tight-knit team will know each other’s strengths and can assign tasks accordingly, instead of basing upcoming tasks on an individual’s availability—no matter how skilled or qualified they are at this specific role.

How self-organizing teams can impact your next project

Self-organizing teams engage in regularly scheduled collaborative meetings in order to create or adjust their project timelines. This is directly in contrast to a traditional working method where teams must wait for a project manager to sign off on approvals or rejections.

Without this need to wait for approval, self-organizing teams can be united by a common purpose and are empowered to organize themselves to achieve their goals. While it might seem that this autonomy doesn’t imply chaos; rather, it’s a structured approach to collaboration.

Self-organizing teams reflect how it can help to learn when a project needs managing. If you need motivation to begin a group project, consider some motivation for your workday, or how to prioritize projects for maximum results.