Self-directed Work teams

1
Self-directed Work teams

• How many versus how well

2
Aim

• To investigate the concept of self-directed teams

3
Objectives

• To analyse the thinking behind the development
  of self-directed teams
• To compare and contrast self-directed teams
  with other management/leadership styles
• To analyse the dynamics of team formation

4
What are self-directed teams?

• They are co-operative communities of workers
  who adopt a collaborative model of
  management/leadership
• They differ from the (perhaps!) more
  traditional boss-worker model

5
What are self-directed teams?

• They arose from the QUALITY revolution that
  swept (predominantly) Japan, during the 1980s
• Their focus is to achieve dramatic results
  within short time-frames (SMART)
• Their activity appears chaotic to outsiders
  (contrast with Tuckmans team building theory)

6
What are self-directed teams?

• They achieve 75 of their results in the last
  25 of their allotted time spans (subtle variant
  on the Pareto Principle?)
• They achieve more (outcomes) with less
  (resources)

7
What is their claim to fame?

• It is asserted, by exponents of self-directed
  teams that they enable complex projects to be
  completed-
• more quicklyand more effectivelywith greater
  worker satisfaction and, therefore, lower
  attrition/absenteeism ratesdue to the belief
  that the collective brainpower of a team exceeds
  that of any manager (comments, please!)
• than more traditional approaches

8
What is the evidence to support this notion?

• Rise to economic dominance (briefly) of Japan
  (there may, therefore, be a strong hint to
  consider, here!)
• Leading-edge organisations, in the west, e.g.
  Federal Express ( the overnight delivery
  service) still uses this approach
• Change, particularly in quality enhancement, is
  often created and effected by self-directed
  teams

9
What factors would support this approach?

• Mutual/peer respect and trust
• Shared vision
• Shared reward schemes
• Freedom to constructively criticise
  current processes and procedures

10
What factors would support this approach?

• Team independence, from other teams
• Team self-sufficiency
• Empowerment
• No blame culture

11
Just a word of warning!

• It is all too easy for organisations to term
  their teams self-managing while not giving them
  meaningful information or decision-making power!

12
Questions, for group feedback, about
self-directed teams

• What might happen if a self-directed team
  becomes stifled, frustrated or just plain lost?

13
Questions, for group feedback, about
self-directed teams

• What potential problems might you consider, in
  respect to the ease with which self-directed
  teams introduce change?

14
Questions, for group feedback, about
self-directed teams

• What potential problems do you envisage with
  regard to self-directed teams working
  independently of other self-directed teams?

15
Questions, for group feedback, about
self-directed teams

• It is claimed that self-directed teams promote
  independence, self-sufficiency and
  competitiveness at the expense of shared goals
  and collaboration discuss, with particular
  relevance to the healthcare sector