When we think of good project management, we think of leaders.  The person who holds “the vision” carries the torch for making sure the project gets done the way it should be.  All eyes to turn to him whenever big decisions are made.  The failure or success can be pinpointed to this one, easily identifiable point of contact.

So how, exactly, does this work in a self-managed team, when there is no leader?  The answer: everybody on the team.

We’re all in this together (Photo Credit)

A manager’s function lies within his job title: he manages.  In a self-managed team, that means everyone manages.  First, everyone manages their own area of expertise: the researcher designs the product, the engineer builds it, and the marketer spreads the word.  In terms of managing the flow between each person, all three people are in charge of making sure each piece passes seamlessly between job functions.

While this seems impossible at first, it is completely doable, and in fact, happens all the time even on teams that have a project manager.  In teams where people have the scope to perform their job and the maturity to work well with others outside their job function, a project manager has little role other than to answer the odd question here and there.  This is especially true with the small start-up, who doesn’t have the time or money to hire someone full-time just to oversee everyone else.

Is it easy to spread the “management” function over several people?  Absolutely not.  Your team will need its own unique set of rules and communication flow to ensure everyone knows where the project is headed.  It is also not appropriate for every work situation (Imagine building a nuclear plant this way).  However, when you can break down responsibility and management down to the smallest unit, you might surprise yourself by finding how motivated people are to do well, since now they have a leadership role of their own.

-Deborah Fike

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