What is a self-managed team?

Members of the team share responsibility for:

• Planning
• Decision making
• Task execution

The roles and duties are often distributed among the individual team members. Self-managed teams are typically empowered to set goals, establish workflows, and resolve issues independently. Self-managed teams are common in agile environments, where adaptability and autonomy are highly valued. They thrive in organizations that prioritize flexibility, innovation, and employee engagement.

A self-managed team is unique in several ways, including in its self-governing nature and reliance on trust and communication. Here are 6 common features of self-managed teams.

Individuals in self-managed teams contribute equally and leverage diverse expertise to lead the team in different situations based on each member's unique strengths. This involves equal participation in setting goals and planning targets.

The members of self-managed teams recognize the value of their teammates and how everyone depends on the individual's contributions to achieve success. This bolsters accountability and ownership across the team.

Team members collaborate on decisions and plans, which means everyone owns the goals the team sets for a given period of time. This collective ownership ensures that every member is committed to the team's objectives and understands how their individual efforts contribute to the broader vision. A unified purpose motivates the team to work cohesively toward shared success.

Self-managed teams excel at addressing challenges through proactive, collaborative approaches. Members leverage diverse perspectives and skills to identify solutions quickly and efficiently. Their ability to adapt and resolve issues independently enhances team performance and resilience.

These teams require little to no supervision to maintain accountability for results by relying on collaboration, mutual trust, and shared responsibility to achieve objectives. Members independently manage their tasks, priorities, and workflows while aligning with the team's overarching goals. This autonomy empowers individuals and fosters a culture of ownership and innovation.

This ensures alignment and effectiveness, which in turn supports the self-governing nature of these teams and fosters innovation and adaptability. By maintaining open dialogue, team members create an environment of transparency and trust where feedback is constructive and continuous improvement is encouraged. Clear communication strengthens relationships and ensures that all voices are heard.

Self-managed teams offer several advantages for projects, such as:

• Increased motivation
• Flexibility
• Innovation
• A greater sense of ownership and accountability

However, these teams also face challenges that deserve equal consideration:

• Potential conflicts
• Uneven workload distribution
• Need for strong self-discipline among members
• Decision making may be slower or less effective

The successful implementation of self-managed teams requires careful planning and support to balance the benefits with the risks.

Due to the lack of clearly defined hierarchies in these teams, the role of a single leader is replaced with that of individual facilitators. To ensure a self-managed team achieves high performance and delivers quality work, its members can follow these 8 best practices:

1. Foster a culture of trust
2. Set clearly defined goals
3. Encourage open communication
4. Actively participate in discussions
5. Provide each other guidance when necessary
6. Avoid micromanagement
7. Invest in training and development
8. Regularly review performance and celebrate achievements

While individual contributions are essential in every team, a self-managed team is especially dependent on the work of every individual team member to ensure that its work continues without serious roadblocks.

Without a single manager responsible for observing processes and seeing the "big picture," it is critical to distribute this knowledge to every member of the team, as with other project responsibilities. Luckily, Enji provides the tools that make this possible. Enji collects individual and team performance data to be analyzed with AI tools. Teams can select which roles within their Enji dashboard receive specific information and reports.

Likewise, Enji features automated bots and alerts that keep teams on track without constant meetings and reminders from managers. When team members know what they need to do, Enji supports them with customizable information to maintain smooth workflows. Enij's asynchronous stand-ups help everyone stay informed on team and individual progress without the necessity of extra meetings.