Related Sponsors

Can a team be self-leading and self-managing?

Home » Leadership » Self-Leadership and Self-Management » Can a team be self-leading and self-managing?

These articles generally focus on personal initiative, but self-leadership and self-management can also apply to the attitude and actions of a team of employees. Increasingly, self-leading and self-managing teams dot the corporate landscape; studies have reported that seventy-nine percent of Fortune 1,000 companies have �self-directed� teams.

A self-leading and self-managing team takes responsibility and initiative for its own work. It requires minimal input from outside sources and once you get such a team moving, it doesn�t stop until the job is completed. This kind of team motivates itself, articulates clear goals and plans, and works well together. Any logistics and details are anticipated and handled neatly.

How does a team become self-leading and self-managing? Usually, it is the result of the kind of people that make up the team�self-leading and self-managing people transfer their skills to their team. In addition, these teams have been freed to do their work. Executives don�t micromanage these teams; instead, they trust that the teams will themselves eliminate the bad options and suggest optimal solutions.

Obviously, self-leading and self-managing teams pay huge dividends for the company. Executives spend far less time motivating and guiding these teams, but simply need to communicate a vision. Thus, energy and resources can be focused elsewhere. In addition, self-leading and self-managing teams work well together, so creativity flourishes and good ideas become great ideas. The team takes ownership in the project because they are leading and managing the project themselves.

Next Page: What is Critical Thinking?

Related Self-Leadership and Self-Management Articles