Self Directed Teams

Hi Kevin,

one of the biggest mistakes we ever made! It was getting great internal press right up to the point where quality went off the rails. I suspect we implemented it wrongly, rather than it being wrong in principle.

My experience is that you have to let go of the reigns very slowly. Having teams look after their own holidays and job assignments is a good first step, but this must be based on some rules around competance, skills and performance measures.

Over all, my motto is currently "Trust, but verify". This means devolving authority, but reserving the right to make checks and coach people on expectations, good practices and knowledge sharing.

Happy to discuss my experoiences further if you would like....
John Hardwick
FIOM