Self-Organization
Self-actualized Agile teams decide their own future together. No one tells them what to do or not to do. Read more below.
Video Version
Where We Are in the Agile Pyramid
We're progressing in the Agile self-actualization pyramid! Teams who are psychologically safe service leaders can start self-organizing and making their own ways of work.
Self-Organization
With psychological safety in place, and service leadership in place, teams can start self-organizing.
Self-organization is the principle that allows the day-to-day people doing the work to make decisions themselves.
The boss on the team does not tell them what to do. The managers and executives provide autonomy, and let the team carry out their own work in the way they want, or think is best. After all, they are the ones doing the work! They are the closest to the work and know what's the best thing for the team based on consensus. They know what's best for their process.
All Tech Fleet training teams practice self-organization in their work with clients. No one is an "expert" telling them answers, or preventing them from failing. They carry out work as service leaders to each other.
A team of psychologically safe service leaders can start organizing themselves in the way they think is best. They can go very far in their teamwork through self-organization.
The stakeholders and clients outside of the team may determine priorities and needs, but the team itself is the engine that decides how to carry it out. They decide when they should recommend changing the plan. They decide how they are going to work together to achieve goals. No book or boss or class should tell them exactly how they do it. They need to build a consensus together. They need to organize themselves.
What about the interns? What about the juniors?
They should not sit around waiting for someone to tell them what to do. They should not be told. They should be given the decision making power. The power should be transferred to the people doing the work including juniors and interns. Together, through a collective team consensus, they all share their voice and decide things together. Self-organized teams build leaders out of everyone on the team because everyone is in service to everyone else's growth.
Self-Organization Checklist
Does your team give the juniors and interns a voice as much as the leads and seniors?
Does your team wait for answers or initiate things on their own?
Does your team ask for clarity before starting or continuing work?
Does your team volunteer to work assignments?
Does your team contribute to conversations?
Does your team present new ideas for how to work, or idea for the product?
Does your team build consensus together and involve each other in decision making?
Self-Organization Video
Here's a video about Self-Organization:
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