Leading Self Managing Teams

As an engineering leader, success hinges on developing and sharing a clear vision. This reduces the need for supervision. It then creates a workspace where everyone can manage themselves and work independently. I adopt a ‘fire and forget’ methodology in my leadership approach. When I delegate a project or task, my aim is to set it in motion and then step back, trusting in my team’s capability to handle it without further intervention from my end.

When you get into managing details, it doesn’t scale. Talented engineers or managers just need direction. Steve Jobs puts it really well.

The greatest people are self-managing. They don’t need to be managed. Once they know what to do, they’ll go figure out how to do it… What they need is a common vision, and that’s what leadership is.

Steve Jobs

Articulating a Vision and Mission

In leading teams, I often see how vision and mission guides us in who we bring on board and how we evolve.

A Compelling Vision

The first thing people ask about a team or organization is what it accomplishes. A vision makes it clear for everyone. It encapsulates a broader purpose and aligns our goals and actions.

Hire with the Mission in Mind

In assembling a team, my focus is on finding individuals who bring not just the essential skills, but also a natural fit with the team’s dynamics. This fosters long-term synergy and commitment. Clearly articulating our mission is key. It helps gauge how potential team members resonate with and respond to our core objectives.

Revising Vision and Mission

Neither vision nor mission is written on stone. It needs revisions regularly. I would like everyone to align about the latest direction and objectives. This requires revisiting mission and vision on a regular cadence. 

Self Sufficient Subteams

Empowering smaller groups within our team to take charge and thrive on their own initiative is a core part of my leadership approach towards building self sufficient subteams.

Autonomous Subteams

I am a huge fan of smaller teams that get things done with little communication overhead. Dividing the teams into smaller, self sufficient subteams has proven to be effective. These groups have the autonomy to manage their projects. It brings a sense of ownership and accountability.

Decentralizing Decision-Making

Empowering subteams to make their decisions allows for more efficient and responsive operations. It reduces the need for top-down management and frees me up. 

Open Communication

Having effective subteams requires hearing everyone and valuing their ideas to create collective sprit.

Open Dialogue

I encourage a culture where open communication is the norm. People speaking their minds is an important way to build trust. This also fosters a culture of being heard and valued, essential for self-management.

Managing Conflicts

Effective conflict resolution is essential for maintaining a focused and unified team. I encourage team members to independently resolve differences in ideas. I only step in only when necessary to provide decisive guidance or to act as a tiebreaker.

Leveraging Individual Talents

Effectively leveraging individual skills means matching each person with the right role, while also fostering a sense of unity and teamwork.

Playing Individual Strengths

Matching projects with each team member’s strengths within subteams leads to higher productivity and job satisfaction. It enables team members to excel and take ownership of their work.

Bonding Activities

Organizing regular activities for the team and subteams builds trust and collaboration. This is about sharing launch time, going out for dinners and doing activities outside of the work.

Enhancing Team Productivity

To really get our team firing on all cylinders, I work on cutting down the noise and distractions, making sure everyone can zone in on what they do best.

Reducing Distractions

There are so many things going on at a time. It degrades the efficiency of the teams. As a leader, managing the amount of distractions comes in handy to get your team’s focus on what matters.

Unblocking

Identifying and addressing obstacles early ensures that subteams can continue their work with minimal disruptions. One of my managers mentioned and still stuck with me as his super power was unblocking. If you want your people to get things done, you need to unblock their footpath.

Seeding Teams

The initial team members significantly influence the team’s culture and effectiveness. I focus on a shared mission and support teams that can manage themselves. I like this approach as it helped us meet our goals, grow our team, and develop the best multiple times. These strategies are integral to the success of the self-managing teams I lead.

In leading my teams, it’s like planting a garden rather than building a machine. Each person is a unique seed. With the right directions and care, they can grow and flourish. My job is to provide the soil and the sunshine. It’s the vision, freedom, and support they need. Together, we’re not just ticking boxes or meeting targets. We’re growing something special that’s bigger than all of us.