February 24th, 2010
How do I know when I’m self-organizing and how do we know if our group is self-organizing?
Indicator #8: Enjoying yourself in the moment and in hindsight
I am self-organizing when I enjoy myself in the moment and in hindsight. Demonstrated in the following ways:
- Laughing and smiling
- Experiencing a sense of freedom, talking about experiencing a sense of freedom/describing a sense of freedom, and demonstrating a sense of freedom (for example, thinking from another perspective, switching roles with another, or surprising yourself)
- Expressing and demonstrating excitement
- Making fun of yourself
- Telling jokes to and teasing others you consider part of yourself
- Reminiscing
- Experiencing moments of “wow!” and “ah-ha!”
As a group, we’re self-organizing when we enjoy ourselves in the moment and in hindsight. Demonstrated in the following ways:
- Collective laughter and smiles
- Group members talking all at the same time (demonstrating excitement about what they’re doing and saying)
- Teasing each other
- Joking together
- Group members feel the work is fun and rewarding most of the time—in the moment and in hindsight
- Happily reminiscing together after the lifetime of the group
- Experiencing collective moments of “wow!” and “ah-ha!”
Tags: collective wow, excitement, freedom, fun, group strengths, indicators of self-organization, laughing, reminiscing, rewarding groups, self-organizing work groups, wow
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February 3rd, 2010
How do I know when I’m self-organizing? How do we know if our group is self-organizing?
Indicator #7: Spontaneously demonstrating something, learning in the moment, and reflecting and learning more in hindsight
I am self-organizing when I spontaneously demonstrate something, learn in the moment, and reflect and learn more in hindsight. Demonstrated in the following examples:
Example 1
- Spontaneous demonstration: Using “we” and “us” to refer to a larger collective (group/division/organization) that I am no longer a part of.
- Learned in the moment: I keep inappropriately using the present tense to refer to something in my past. I wonder why that is.
- Learned in hindsight: We group members who left the division/ organization (at the time of the research study) are still comfortably speaking on behalf of the group/organization/division/district that we are no longer formally a part of. I am still deeply connected to this larger collective. I still think of it as part of myself. I still want it to succeed.
Example 2
- Spontaneous demonstration: Continuing to be open, listen, and share ideas in the moment through multiple disagreements (while the person you’re talking to/disagreeing with does the same).
- Learned in the moment: This person doesn’t see what I see. This person couldn’t possibly see what I see from her perspective.
- Learned in hindsight: Examples:
- Although the experience was difficult, I can see more today thanks to the person I disagreed with.
- I have been influenced and changed by someone with whom I disagree.
- I can be influenced and changed by those with whom I disagree and continue to be myself.
As a group, we’re self-organizing when we spontaneously demonstrate something, learn in the moment, and reflect and learn more in hindsight. Demonstrated in the following examples:
Example 1
- Spontaneous demonstration: Group members brainstorm spontaneously around an idea. They don’t all agree.
- Learned in the moment: We think from multiple perspectives. We do not agree. We still value each other more than the disagreement—enough to keep working together.
- Learned by someone close to the group in the moment: These group members keep respecting each other and working although they have different perspecitves. I’d like to work with them.
- Learned in hindsight: Examples:
- As a group, not only do we not always agree but we often do not even experience the need to agree.
- As a group, agreeing is less important than valuing each other and continuing to move together in the same general direction.
- The idea of moving together in the same general direction, without needing to agree, can be applied to other groups and people that we are working with.
- Learned by someone close to the group in hindsight: I’m as flexible as they are. I can do what they do with them. I could do this with others.
Example 2
Tags: group strengths, hindsight, in the moment, indicators of self-organization, ref, self-organizing work groups, spontaneity
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January 28th, 2010
How do I know when I’m self-organizing? How do we know if our group is self-organizing?
Indicator #6: Behaving thoughtfully, demonstrating awareness and reflection
I am self-organizing when I behave thoughtfully, demonstrating awareness and reflection. Demonstrated, for example, by:
- Talking about unexpected consequences emerging from your actions (in my study, people often spoke of difficult yet ultimately positive consequences emerging from collective actions)
- Talking about being on a different level, thinking in a bigger or broader way, and demonstrating what you mean (for example, explaining the new insights you have into what a larger collective—such as your division, district, organization—is both doing well and could be doing better, with minimal concern or pause, even to an outsider)
- Talking about bringing or practicing balance (for selves, team, department, division, etc.) and demonstrating what you mean
- Recognizing and pointing out themes emerging from the discussion you are having
As a group, we’re self-organizing when we behave thoughtfully, demonstrating awareness and reflection. Demonstrated, for example, by:
- All group members understand the value in their role, stay true to the needs of that role, and stay true to who they are (even when role switching and role sharing)
- Group members are often quickly aware when another group member has a personal difficulty and step in to help without being asked (examples: stepping in to help a struggling group member better understand a customer or student or stepping in to help a struggling member get a day off—and not worry about taking a day off—when he needs it)
- The group disbands on its own when it is no longer needed. Members leave the group at different times or all at once, depending on what is needed by themselves and the people who matter most to the individuals and the group.
Tags: collective awareness, collective reflection, indicators of self-organization, self-organizing work group, thoughfulness
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January 6th, 2010
How do I know when I’m self-organizing? How do we know if our group is self-organizing? Indicator #5: Feeling and doing things that feel spontaneous, fluid, and natural—both in the moment and in hindsight.
I am self-organizing when I feel and do things that feel spontaneous, fluid, and natural—both in the moment and in hindsight. Demonstrated, for example, by:
- Laughing
- Speaking the same words and making the same sounds at the same time as another or others
- Using language shortcuts (for example, using language that outsiders would not understand without some explanation and understanding each other even when you are not using perfect language, not using the exact right words, or not using words at all)
- Unexpectedly brainstorming ideas for ways to improve and evolve (at any level)
- Explaining to an outsider what another person is saying, without concern or pause for thought
- Comfortably speaking for a collective, with minimal concern and pause for thought
- Finishing another’s thoughts and sentences
As a group, we’re self-organizing when we feel and do things that feel spontaneous, fluid, and natural to us—both in the moment and in hindsight. Demonstrated, for example, by:
- Extended periods and brief moments of informality, spontaneity, and creativity as a group
- Seamless transition of ideas and thoughts among group members much of the time
- Comfortably disagreeing (much of the time), knowing that consensus isn’t always useful and required to move forward in the same general direction anyway and that group members will stick by each other through disagreement
Tags: comfortable disagreement, creativity, indicators of self-organization, informality, laughing, moving in the same general direction, self-organizing work groups, spontaneity
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December 21st, 2009
How do I know when I’m self-organizing? How do we know if our group is self-organizing? This is fourth indicator of self-organization that emerged from my research study:
Indicator #4: Sharing more of myself than I expected or planned.
I am self-organizing when I share more of myself than I expected or planned. Demonstrated, for example, by:
- Sharing personal feelings, information, and stories that demonstrate larger connections (“Just a quick aside…”)
- Sharing half-formed thoughts and ideas
- Sharing personal stories, prompting others to reflect and share even more than they had before
- Momentarily stepping out of your formal work role and just being yourself
As a group, we’re self-organizing when we share more of ourself than we planned. Demonstrated, for example, by:
- The group has boundaries that are very flexible—more flexible, even, than members planned or are aware (and that’s ok). Examples:
o People near the group and close to group members are considered part of the group by one or more group members whether those people or other group members know it or not
o People near the group and close to group members can imagine and consider themselves a part of the group independent from what group members think
o Those who help and contribute in any way are given credit and can feel close to and part of the group
- People nearby and personally close to group members can see the group and group members demonstrating many of the things that it takes to make the group work—without group members being fully aware of it and without group members talking about it
Tags: indicators of self-organization, self-organizing, self-organizing work groups
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November 20th, 2009
How do I know when I’m part of a self-organizing work group? How do we know if our group is self-organizing? This is the third of a series of posts in which I document the nine indicators of self-organization that emerged from my research study.
Indicator #3: Openly seeking to understand another
I am self-organizing when I:
- Openly seek to understand another. Demonstrated, for example, by:
o Setting aside your plan and instead asking questions to better understand another in the moment
o Intentionally asking a lot of questions and surfacing memories that had been forgotten by yourself and others
o Asking big, broad, open-ended questions and shutting up long enough to listen
As a group, we’re self-organizing when we:
- Openly seek to understand another. Demonstrated, for example, by:
o One individual struggles to find language (e.g., saying “this is hard to describe” or turning to a metaphor or simile to describe the experience) and another steps in to help find the language and the idea
o Group members are seen learning from others—including those with whom they disagree—first inside and then outside the group
Tags: indicators of self-organization, self-organizing work groups
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November 5th, 2009
Self-organizing work groups can be difficult to see. So how do I know when I’m part of one? How do we know if our group is self-organizing? This is the second of a series of posts that document the nine indicators of self-organization that emerged from my reseach study of self-organizing work groups of business employees and high school teachers.
Indicator #2: Seeing Myself in Another and Another in Myself
I am self-organizing when I:
- See myself in another and another in myself. Demonstrated, for example, by:
- Pointing out each other’s strengths
- Complementing each other
- Using each others’ language
- Empathizing with others, expressing that you had the same experience or feel the same way
As a group, we’re self-organizing when we:
- See ourselves in others and others in ourselves. Demonstrated, for example, by:
- Group members are certain that there are no hidden agendas in the group
- Role switching (people temporarily taking on and thinking from the perspective of each other’s roles) first within the group and then with some others outside the group
- Role sharing (people moving back and forth between roles) first within the group and then with some others outside the group
Tags: empathy, indicators, no hidden agendas, role sharing, role switching, self-organizing work groups
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November 3rd, 2009
I study self-organizing work groups of people in business and educational environments. Self-organizing work groups in business and educational organizations can be difficult to see—even for some who are part of them—in part, I think, because they look and act differently from what many of us think of when we think “team,” “work group,” “department,” and so on.
So how do I know when I’m part of one? How do we know if our group is self-organizing? This is the first of a series of posts that document what I learned in my study. Interestingly (at least to me), after I saw these indicators of self-organization in the groups I studied, I became capable of seeing the same indicators in all the people who took part in my study—group members, their peers, their managers and administrators, and even in myself. That was a very cool day.
Indicator #1: Openly Sharing Yourself
I am self-organizing when I:
1. Openly share myself. Demonstrated, for example, by sharing:
- Your fears
- Your mistakes (your own, your team’s, your department’s, your division’s, your organization, your district’s, etc.)
- An experience of chaos/chaotic times
- What you believe, even when you know that it directly contradicts what another individual or group just said
As a group, we’re self-organizing when we:
1. Openly share ourself. Demonstrated, for example, by:
- Group members can reflect honestly together
- The group can communicate its purpose to anyone in its environment
- Group members act on their espoused values (people within and outside the group can see this in the group members)
- The group brainstorms, experiments, and works through its difficulties with outsiders present
Tags: acting on espoused values, collective reflection, communicate purpose within environment, indicators of self-organization, self-organizing work groups
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October 22nd, 2009
If you asked the self-organizing work group members I studied—especially those who worked together the longest—I think most would say no. Group members experienced the ability to work faster as part of these groups than they could on their own and as part of other teams and groups they were part of at work.
As for me, from my perspectiveas a researcher, I’m not entirely sure. I think it depends on what you actually want. Are you after self-sustaining learning in your organization? Are you after resilient adaptability and innovation that will self-perpetuate and outlive you as an individual and group? If so, I believe that becoming a self-organizing work group is an excellent place to start. The groups I was part of and studied supported group members (and many nearby others) in becoming more aware of what they, and others, were capable of—not despite their human limitations but embracing them. The self-organizing work groups I studied had primarily positive impacts to at least six levels in their organizations (as experienced by three group-level perspectives). Impacts lasted well past the lifetimes of the groups themselves. My research didn’t attempt to compare the speed of these groups with other types of groups. Most members of the groups I studied were after better and, for them, faster appeared to come as a side effect of simply working in this manner.
So if you are after only faster, maybe these groups aren’t for you. But if you are after more—for example, better, faster, and cheaper (one “trifecta” of the business world I come from)—then given what I’ve seen, my money is on self-organizing work groups.
Tags: change, FAQ, human organization, self-organizing work groups
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