Purpose and benefits

Many companies have tried self-managed teams, with mixed results.
When they’re successful, self-managed teams can be 15–20% more productive than conventional teams.
Despite the title, these teams usually have some form of official or unofficial leadership.
It takes considerable effort and time to refine the concept to make it work well.
In launching the self-managed concept it’s important to understand the natural development cycle of groups.
These self-managed groups can gradually acquire an increasing range of responsibilities, once the preserve of middle managers.