What is self-management?

Self-management: a term you keep hearing. But what does self-management actually mean? Self-management means that an organisation works in teams in which leadership is shared. Everyone in the team is an equal, and together they divide up the work that needs to be done. The fact that everyone is equal does not mean there is no leadership in a self-managing team. Every team member leads their own part of the work. Those parts are usually based on the talents and qualities of the people involved. Who is good at what, and who is best placed to take on which role?

Why work in self-managing teams?

The reason more and more people are working in self-managing teams is that they want to move away from a hierarchical organisational structure. That hierarchy no longer fits the networked society, with all its technological change, that we live in today. Organisations want to be more agile and to respond to innovation faster. Because decision-making authority sits far lower in the organisation in this way of working, responding to innovation genuinely does become easier.

What is the difference between self-management and self-organisation?

Many people think self-management and self-organisation are the same thing, but they are not. The difference lies in who sets the goal. With self-management the team sets it themselves; with self-organisation it is set by the manager or the executive team (in consultation with the team). Who decides the course you sail? In both cases, though, it is the team that decides how the goals are reached.