Self-Directed Work Teams for Beginners

Start your research on self directed work teams with the fundamentals

Self directed work teams are also referred to as self managed teams and are typically responsible for processes normally associated with a manager. The key concept of self directed work groups is that decisions are made by consensus where members of the team exercise discretion in decision making. The team is accountable for the results of its actions and decisions.

The types of decisions that a self-directed team has responsibility for include goal setting, determining the methods for accomplishing the goals and agreeing on how the team will function. In other words, there is not a hierarchy and they can manage complex projects. Self-directed work teams work particularly well where there is a need for cross-department projects to be managed by members of similar seniority levels. In this guide you will:

1. Find out what approaches to self-directed teams are more likely to foster success.

2. Gather information on where you can find high quality consultants to assist you with implementing self directed work teams.

3. Discover the disadvantages of self directed work groups.

 

Discover the different approaches used to implement self directed or self-managed work teams

The way a self directed team is implemented can help determine how successful it will be. Self-directed work teams for beginners begins with approaches such as a spontaneous "let's try this out for a while" in just one team to part of an overall re-engineering effort in an organization. Doing your research before you implement a self directed work group in your organization would be advantageous.
Try: Organized Change has an excellent discussion of the various implementation approaches. Institute for Corporate Productivity is a vendor free network of corporations focused on building highly productive organizations where you can discover more information on implementing self directed business teams.

Gain knowledge about self directed work teams consulting firms

If you are a small to medium sized organization you will want to find a consultant which will be able to help you determine with your research on such topics as what techniques or processes can be put in place to increase employee motivation. Things such as removing control, increasing accountability of the individual, allowing for more job freedom and fostering contributions by identifying experts within the team can all be enhanced in a self-directed work team.
Try: Competitive Advantage Consultants offers self-directed work teams training and other resources. Go to Teambuilding and scroll down to why self-direction works.

Study the disadvantages to determine if self-directed teams will work in your organization

By examining the disadvantages of self directed work teams you can learn how to overcome any obstacles which might impede implementation or success. Traditional work groups are much more common in most organizations and comparing their productivity with that of self-directed work teams is another way to clarify what outcomes you can expect.
Try: EzineArticles.com has a concise description of disadvantages and tips on how to overcome them. The Gale Group presents a lengthy article, which summarizes findings from a study done on competence of self-directed work teams and traditional work groups.

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