Agile Teams Become Self-Organizing
Once the team starts to understand how to work together, it moves toward self-organization. In Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances [Hac02], J. Richard Hackman includes a table that describes the differences between manager-led teams, self-managing teams, and self-governing teams.
No team moves from manager-led to self-management in a short time. Often, the organization does not allow a team enough leeway to manage itself the way it wants to. I have seen an intermediate state, set in italics in the table that follows, that shows what many agile teams can do as they learn to direct themselves.
Who Is Responsible For | Manager-Led Teams | Self-Directed Teams | Self-Managing Teams | Self-Governing Teams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Setting the overall direction | Manager | Manager | Manager | Team |
Designing the team and its organizational context | Manager | Manager | Team | Team |
Monitoring and managing work process and progress | Manager | Team, with the exception of hiring and firing | Team | Team |
Executing team tasks | Team | Team | Team | Team |
Managers often create the team and set the overall direction. Agile teams take it from there. They direct their own work. They plan their work and deliver the work. The monitor their progress.
Too few agile teams are able to manage their own hiring and firing; however, agile teams must have the final decision about whom to hire. That’s because the team manages its work. Managers sometimes believe they can make the hiring decision for a team. Instead, managers can facilitate the hiring process, making sure the team members know how to interview and make a decision as a team. See Hiring Geeks That Fit [Rot13] for details on how to hire.
If you are some sort of project manager, technical lead, manager, or other hierarchical position, your job is to serve the team. For example, the Scrum master role, as defined in the Scrum Guide,[8] explicitly says that the Scrum master’s job is to serve the team. (For more information on how leaders serve the team, see How Leaders Serve the Team.)
If your team is not managing its own work, consider the actions you can take that can help them do so. Create an agile culture of transparency and collaboration. The team will use that and deliver more finished work than you can imagine.