I’ll be speaking at the ISPI conference in Orlando in a few weeks (Wednesday morning, April 13th) on this subject. Hope to see some of you there. Here’s the 2-page handout… 7 Tips for Rapidly Fostering Self-Organizing Work Groups As an individual: Prioritize working/being with people who help you trust your instincts while stretching/expanding those instincts. As you can, let go of people and groups that … [Read More]
An interviewer asked me this question last year—you can still find my response on the Web if you look for it. I’m still fairly satisfied with what I said to him, with one glaring exception. In my three-paragraph answer (good Lord, will I ever be able to say anything concisely?!), I said “I think you have to be a human being to be in a … [Read More]
When your self-organizing work group succeeds in accomplishing the work-of-the-moment that it came into existence to do, it may be obvious that the group needs to end. But it may also be unclear at what point–exactly–you as an individual should let go of the group and its work. From my perspective today, here are five signs that it may be time to let go of your SOWG and its work and ideas…
You can expect amazing things from these groups, but what those things actually are, you can’t entirely know ahead of time. Think about a self-organizing group that you’ve seen somewhere: like several jazz musicians or rappers spontaneously improvising amazing music in the moment or a flash mob of people somewhat spontaneously performing a Michael Jackson or Lady Gaga song in a city park. You can expect to be surprised and wowed. Or you can expect nothing and still be surprised and wowed.
I’ve studied and been part of at least 14 self-organizing work groups in the past 7 years. You don’t have to encourage active participation in self-organizing work groups. They form in response to personally felt needs of the moment, people stay with them until those needs are met, and then move on from them as what matters most to them as an individual changes.
A friend recently said this to me: “One of my master’s classes this quarter briefly touched on the topic of self-organizing systems. We discussed how this might work in government employment, but I was skeptical. I argued that this sort of peer work was not feasible in government since government lacked the mechanisms for weeding out weak contributors or “free riders” in the system. Am I too cynical?” … [Read More]
There is one additional indicator of self-organization–at the group level–that I could not see at an individual level. As a self-organizing work group, you can: Indicator #9. Re-form and immediately exist again, as needed, after your lifetime. Demonstrated, for example, by: Group members continuing to help each other, as needed, months and years after the lifetime of the group. Group members happily coming together again … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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 … [Read More]
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