Agile self-organizing teams: What are they? How do they work?
Last updated: January 13, 2023 Read in fullscreen view
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Self-organizing (The team has the autonomy to organize itself to best complete the work items.)
As the Scrum Guide explains: “Scrum Teams are cross-functional, meaning the members have all the skills necessary to create value each Sprint. They are also self-managing, meaning they internally decide who does what, when, and how.”
‘The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.’
This sentence, taken from the principles of the Agile manifesto, introduces the concept of self-organization. We can find justification for this principle in the Scrum Guide:
‘Adaptation becomes more difficult when the people involved are not empowered or self-managing. A Scrum Team is expected to adapt the moment it learns anything new through inspection.’
Self-organized teams are crucial for agile projects
The ability of teams to self-organize around project goals has now become crucial to all agile methodologies. By using the collective wisdom of the entire team, members are able to optimally organize work in a way that a single manager just can’t.
While it can take time for teams to understand and implement the concepts of self-organization, but with the right project management software in addition to training, mentoring, and guidance it is definitely possible for self-organizing teams to perform well in an agile environment and deliver quality products as quickly as possible.
In essence the following principle from the Agile Manifesto best summarizes what is needed:
"Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done."
If an organization does not allow its teams to be autonomous, this will limit their ability to adapt.
But, as we know, adaptation is a key factor in standing out from the competition. Especially in an unstable, unpredictable, and complex environment.
How Self-Organizing Teams Work
Self-organizing teams might sound like an easy route to chaos, but when done correctly, that’s far from the case. There are several principles that guide self-organizing teams to help maintain order. Those principles include:
- Collaboration and teamwork: When a team doesn’t have a manager pushing orders, it’s up to the individual members to communicate with one another and work together. As a result, a self-organizing team must embrace a highly collaborative style of working and operate as a true unit.
- Competency: Members of a self-organizing team must exhibit strong confidence in their own capabilities and the capabilities of their team members. This competency is critical since team members cannot expect to receive clear direction from a manager at the start of each project.
- Regular growth and improvement: As important as competency is to success, so too is a hunger for regular growth and improvement. Without a manager, team members must take it upon themselves to seek opportunities for growth and look for ways to improve what they’re doing.
- Trust and respect: Trust and respect are key ingredients for all teams, and self-organizing teams are no exception. Team members need to trust in the skills of others and trust that everyone will get the job done as planned, as there is no manager holding everyone accountable. Additionally, team members must respect the opinions of others and work together to find compromises to differing views.
- Motivation: Receiving a new assignment and completing it is one thing, going out to find work and setting your own timeline is quite another – and the latter requires a high level of motivation.
- Continuity: Working as a self-organizing team is something of a balancing act. Finding the right skills, establishing high levels of trust, and ensuring motivation are key to success, particularly when there is no manager taking charge. This balancing act makes continuity critical for the team’s ongoing success.
- Ownership and commitment: Finally, team members must exhibit a strong sense of ownership over their success and a commitment to all the previous principles.
Limits of self-organized teams
Each team must have enough room in which it can self-organize, just like a sandbox! This sandbox represents a set of constraints that the team must know and accept.
Also, the team must know which decisions are in its area of influence and which decisions are not. The “Delegation Poker” technique, taken from Management 3.0, is a very good way to define these limits.
Conclusion
Adopting self-organization is an investment for companies and teams that can pay off big in the long run.
This philosophy goes against "Command and Control" practices which, even if they seem reassuring for management, are detrimental to team commitment and productivity.
Today's teams want to be flexible, autonomous and participate in a mission. And that is just what self-organization provides them with.
Altogether, this increased efficiency, focus on continuous improvement, and improved problem-solving help Agile self-organizing teams focus their time on delivering a quality product that meets the end customer’s needs as quickly as possible – a core tenet of what it means to be Agile.
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