For leaders, self-governing teams are invaluable. Self-managed teams receive individual responsibility and accountability over all aspects of execution as they work toward a shared goal. This autonomy signals trust, allows each employee to assume leadership over tasks and is one of the best ways to improve job performance.
Still, developing these teams requires the help of a premier leadership coach. Read our blog to learn how to improve work performance by creating self-managed teams:
How to Build a Self-Managed Team to Improve Job Performance
Clearly Define Expectations
Creating a self-governed team is one of the best solutions when wondering how to improve work performance for employees, leadership, and an entire organization.
Start by clearly defining expectations for yourself and your employees. There are several types of self-managed teams to consider building, including:
- Problem-solving teams
- Fully-autonomous teams
- Limited supervision teams
Creating a team that synthesizes all three is the best way to improve job performance, but this depends on the team, your organization, and your goals. Establish and communicate the new structure and expectations, so everyone is on the same page.
Gauge Interest and Determine Readiness
Next, gauge interest and determine readiness. Bring the notion to high-performing employees for an idea of whether or not this is a viable option to improve job performance.
The feedback you receive determines if this is a feasible solution for how to improve work performance at your organization. Take note of whether or not this is something your employees want to participate in.
Also, consider readiness. Are your employees prepared for this responsibility? Characteristics that signal readiness include when employees:
- Are self-driven
- Trust each other
- Confidently make decisions
- Communicate effectively
- Manage their time effectively
- Take ownership of results
- Independently learn and improve
If there’s enough interest and they are ready, start building your team. To prepare teams for this transition, emphasize building trust.
Communicate Goals, Benefits, and Direction
Before assembling a self-managed team, leadership and employees must have a clear understanding of the reason behind this initiative.
If you want to improve job performance, you need everyone to buy in. Communicate the expectations, benefits, reasoning, and impact this will have at all levels, including individual employees, teams, and departments.
Ensure everyone understands desired outcomes and how they contribute to larger organizational goals. Set boundaries and guardrails, and devise a guiding philosophy for task management and communication.
Your team will perform their best when they understand the larger goals and values behind this decision and can ensure they align with them.
Establish Roles and Decision-Making Processes
When leveraging self-managed teams as a solution for how to improve work performance, defining roles and establishing decision-making processes and ground rules are essential. Outline each employee’s strengths and how you expect them to contribute.
As a group, determine how you will make decisions and navigate conflicts. To improve job performance, don’t assign specific responsibilities. Instead, create a blueprint for processes and frameworks your team can utilize when necessary.
Allocate Resources and Implement this Structure
Finally, to truly improve job performance, you have to buy in, too. Invest in this process. Provide your team with the budget and resources they need to succeed independently.
Because this is a self-governed team, we advise allocating a lump sum budget for the year or quarter and allowing them to spend it at their discretion. This promotes ownership over the budget and empowers them to find innovative, efficient ways to leverage resources.
Invest in training, walk them through processes, slowly add self-management features, and continuously solicit feedback to improve and ensure everything runs smoothly.
Schedule a Consultation to Learn How to Build Self-Managed Teams to Improve Job Performance Across the Board
When you create a self-managed team, you drive innovation, promote better critical thinking and problem-solving, and encourage employees to be fully invested in the success of your organization. However, this is just scratching the surface of why to consider building self-governing teams to improve job performance. Are you wondering how to improve work performance across the board?
Fortunately, at Consilio, we offer unrivaled leadership training that helps managers learn how to effectively assemble self-managed teams. Schedule a consultation to get started.
