KSA & Competencies for

Leadership at Team level

SELF-MANAGING TEAMS
 Characteristics of Self-Managing
Team

An organisation’s serious effort to place a

high degree of both decision-making
power and opportunities for self-control
within a work group.
• This is typically based on 3 beliefs:
• That employees are capable of such
autonomy and creative effort.
• That they desire to assume such
responsibilities.
• That the organisation will benefit improved
productivity and reduced levels of conflict.
• Self-managing teams likely to produce
increased levels of motivation,job
satisfaction and performance with
accompaning decrease in employee
absenteeism.
 Characteristics of Self-managing
Team
• Usually complete a whole/distinct part of
product or service with which they can
identify.
• Typically provided decision-making
autonomy and control over work behaviour
• Teams usually select their own internal
team leaders, replacing former supervisor
role. Next higher level becomes team
coordinator/team facilitator.
 Behaviours necessary for leaders
of self-managing teams
• Encouraging self-goal setting
• Encouraging self-evaluation
• Encouraging high self-expectation
• Facilitating self- problem solving
• Developing self-initiative and responsibility
• Encouraging within- group conflict
resolution
 Benefits of Self-Management
• Enables employees to experience greater
autonomy.
• Paradox of self-managing teams-increase
autonomy of team while decrease autonomy of
individual team member.
• In cohesive groups, role of social pressure in
motivating individual performance. Peers
constant presence give continuous
reinforcement. Often reaction from peers more
critical than from bosses.
 Key Question-What Authority with
Managerial Hierarchy
• Managers should exercise their authority about
direction-the end states the team is to pursue
and the outer limit constraints on team
behaviour.
• Maintain balance between managerial and team
authority. If managers retain virtually all
authority, dictating work procedures in detail to
team members, many advantages of teamwork
will be lost. Conversely, if all authority assigned
to team, can result in anarchy.
• High-involvement organisation must create a
climate of fairness and openness.
• High-involvement organisations require people
who are trustworthy and capable of responsibility
and employees should have freedom which
goes with that trust.
• However, if individuals fail to behave in the way
the organisation expect, it should take
immediate strong action. (e.g.
dishonesty,breaking of organisation policies on
ethics)
 Implications for Leadership-
Enabling performance conditions
that foster self-managing team
• Clear engaging direction-a well-designed
performance situation
• An engaging unit structure (task, people
expectation)
• Supportive organisational context-rewards,
education, information
• Expert coaching
• Adequate material resources
 Empowerment & Performance
• Empowerment of employees signify sharing of power
through delegation of authority. Process by which mgrs.
help others to acquire and use power needed to make
decisions affecting themselves and their work.
• Empowerment likely to improve performance upto a
point and thereafter result in decline in performance
because employee may lack ability to take further
responsibility ,or find it stressful or tempted to take
advantage of increased autonomy .The point at which
this is likely to occur, differ. Depend on employee
abilities ,desire for responsibility &autonomy ,stress
tolerance, trustworthiness etc.