Delivering in  self managing teams depends on a clear, authoritative direction.  In fact effective self-management is impossible unless someone in authority sets the direction for the work to be done.  This may be a team leader, or project manager, an outside person who engages the team or the team itself in the case of boards of directors.  The key is to identify the legitimate authority.  The performance of the team depends on how well this person or group delivers the direction.  It should be competent, convincing and given without apology.

Collaboration in Self Managing teams is the best way to get the best out of people. However, if you are going to allow your people to get manage themselves, how you give them work is really important.  Teams develop a strong internal motivation when someone with recognised authority gives them a compelling direction.   J Richard Hackman gives the following requirements for the directions to be compelling:

  1. First it must be challenging. Describing aspirations that elevate our purpose or deepen our meaning brings out massive motivation. And for the direction to be really challenging, the team should understand they have a 50/50 chance of success. And the challenge must be real, not hype.
    Challenging directions, energise the team.
  2. Then the task should be clear and incisive, not abstract or generic. The task must also be incomplete, allowing the team to project their own interpretation into the task and leaving room for the teams inspiration and flexibility. Balancing clarity with incompleteness gives the team the knowledge they need to proceed, with an opportunity for real-time self-management in getting to a solution.
    Balancing clarity and incompleteness aligns the team.
  3. Finally, the direction must be consequential. When we know work is important we gather and use all of the knowledge skill and experience possible. We put our best players forward, holding nothing in reserve. When consequences are built into the way direction is given, everyone in a team gets involved in bringing success.
    Providing consequences engages the knowledge and skill of everyone in the team.

And by the way, this also applies to the work you set for yourself. If you are running your own business, your direction still needs to be challenging, clear and consequential.  To achieve this it must be aligned to a clear and compelling sense of purpose. Your life purpose.   Are you clear on the work set out for you?

As you give the work do you specify ends or means, or none or both?

  • If you tell people what you want and how to do it, you are probably wasting their creativity.
  • If you tell them neither you are probably stressing them out.
  • Worst of all; if you tell them how to do it but not the outcome you want, they are going to focus on bureaucracy and not on satisfying customers.
  • But if you tell them the ends you want and let them figure out the means they will use, that is when you get ownership, self-managed and goal-directed work.

This is another posting in support of the posting about Five Conditions for Team Effectiveness.

The graphic comes from wittysparks.com where you will find an article about a interesting decision making  matrix.