How can you encourage self-organizing behavior in a Development Team?

Bring your delivery team members with you along your product journey. Include them in your customer visits so they can build a better understanding of the "who" and "why". Frequently share updates to your roadmap and personas with dev team. Ask for their feedback (I used to print them up and tape them to the walls of our team room for reference). Delegate some prioritization (tech debt and customer feedback) to your product owner (if you have one) or your delivery manager. Show them that you trust them with your backlog and sprints. Include your dev team in your road mapping process, don't just add items to the roadmap without their involvement. To that point, bring the problem to the table and brainstorm how "we" can solve it collectively.

90% des problèmes en entreprise viennent d'un manque d'alignement entre les équipes. Si les commerciaux ont un objectif, et l'équipe produit un objectif opposé, rien n'avancera. Aligner les équipes est donc primordial, et c'est là l'une des responsabilités du PM : batir une vision claire, la partager, et fédérer les gens derrière. On peut aussi construire une North Star Metric : c'est un KPI unique et global pour toute l'entreprise que l'on va mesurer régulièrement pour savoir si on atteint notre vision. La difficulté est de se mettre d'accord sur la définition de notre NTM. Définir une NTM claire, avec les autres équipes, est la première step pour aligner les parties prenantes.

When the team understands the 'why' behind their efforts or work, it drives them and results in better productivity and a shared sense of responsibility to see it's success. Hence, communicating the product's vision early and getting all stakeholders' buy-in is vital for its success. Moreover, vision can be broken down into SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timebound) goals to outline what is to be accomplished. Thus, the 'What' and 'Why' are most vital.

Defining the vision and goals is crucial for encouraging self-organizing behavior within a Development Team. By clearly articulating the overarching purpose and objectives of the project, team members gain a shared understanding of what they are working towards. This clarity enables individuals to autonomously align their efforts with the collective vision, fostering a sense of ownership and empowerment within the team.

One of the main tasks of a product owner is the transportation of the "Voice of the Customer" to the development team. This should be done on a high level with a vision and on the requirements level as well. If vision and goals are clear at the beginning, this will have a very positive effect on having a future-proofed software architecture in place. This is a great enablement for an agile project.

I am so happy to see this suggestion!! So often Product Managers get caught up in the day-to-day administration of a development team instead of the most important job of all: leading the team towards value. The development team is a team of professionals who can manage their own work and their own timelines. They are the ones doing the work, so why on earth would we impose deadlines on them? If you are struggling towards this empowerment, I've seen the simple act of no longer writing user stories unlock this in teams. The team can own and write their own user stories, meaning they understand the user more and are free to experiment. Try it out!

Don't underestimate what a team can do when they believe in the product vision, they trust you as a leader, and they're left alone. One of the most successful development teams I had as a product manager was one I left alone for weeks at a time. They understood the vision (this is key) and made the decisions they felt were best for the product. They reached out if they got really stuck, but they rarely needed help. This was a small relatively inexperienced team and this was a new product for them. The result was a pretty impressive MVP.

Incentivando a autonomia e deixando as pessoas donas dos temas, a responsabilidade e os resultados vem de forma implícita, e isso n?o pode ocorrer sem uma organiza??o de time, pois havendo resultados positivos, a organiza??o esta realizada, n?o havendo, ai é necessário identificar os pontos de falha, deixando claro as responsabilidades e dividindo o resultado.

If development follows Agile/Scrum methodology to deliver the features of a certain product, then the team must adhere to Scrum values: Commitment Focus Openness Respect Courage Moreover, adding a Scrum Master is a valuable addition. This role empowers the development team, alongside the Scrum team, to encourage and foster a self-managing team.

Respecting team autonomy is fundamental in nurturing self-organizing behavior. It involves trusting the expertise and judgment of team members to make decisions regarding how they approach tasks and allocate resources. Empowering individuals to self-manage encourages creativity, innovation, and a sense of accountability, as they take ownership of their work and collaborate effectively to achieve desired outcomes.

"A Dynamic Theory of Human Motivation," published by Abraham Maslow, tells that people are motivated to satisfy needs and therefore act on the needs, and for those certain needs, a few other needs that might be co-related should be met before pursuing one. Theorizing on one aspect of 'Esteem needs' in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the team structure that constantly promotes rewards, recognition, and personal connect and a safer place that promotes and encourages collaboration while developing products is the team that consistently excels in delivering products on time and achieve great success along with awesome products that customers love while also bringing the best in team culture.

Fostering a collaborative culture is essential for promoting self-organizing behavior. Encouraging open communication, sharing of ideas, and collective problem-solving cultivates a supportive environment where team members feel comfortable expressing themselves and contributing their unique perspectives. Collaboration fosters synergy and enables the team to adapt to challenges and changes more effectively, enhancing overall productivity and cohesion.

In my experience, it really helps when the team members have T-shaped skills. This becomes critical when a team member has to work on a spike story or when a member has an unplanned absence.

My team is keen with with collaborative culture for promoting innovation, efficiency, and team work. There is a clear communication channel to ensure that team members can easily share information, updates, and feedback. We utilise tools confluence, jira, chat applications and regular team meetings to facilitate communication. We align team members around common goals and objectives to create a sense of purpose and direction. Encourage collaboration by emphasising the collective success of the team over individual achievements. With our cross functional teams, we encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing by bringing together individuals with different expertise and perspectives so that team members can learn from another.

Providing recognition and rewards plays a significant role in motivating self-organizing behavior within a Development Team. Acknowledging and celebrating individual and collective achievements reinforces desired behaviors and encourages continued commitment and excellence. Recognition serves as positive reinforcement, reinforcing the value of self-organization and encouraging team members to proactively contribute towards shared goals.

We have two rewards system in place; formal and informal. The formal includes; special training or seminar, trips, tuition or job-related courses, scholarships, special assignment, plaques and trophies, formal banquet honoring team members, shares of the company stock, corporate wards for outstanding achievement and special bonuses. The informal rewards include; Thank you card, saying thanks to a team member, take a team member out for lunch, a fruit basket, team dinner or outing, certificates etc

I play this role currently, I put the needs of others first and help the people develop and perform as highly as possible. I focus on collaboration, empathy, and a commitment to serving the team's best interests.

Being a servant leader is paramount in facilitating self-organizing behavior. A servant leader prioritizes the needs of their team members, supporting their growth and development while empowering them to take ownership of their work. By serving as a facilitator rather than a directive authority figure, a servant leader creates an environment of trust, respect, and collaboration, fostering a sense of autonomy and responsibility within the team.

Ce n'est pas seulement à l'équipe à apprendre à s'auto-organiser. C'est aussi, et la plupart du temps, c'est là que ?a bloque, à l'entreprise d'accepter qu'une équipe s'auto-organise. Quand on ne sait qu'avancer à vue, sans objectif réel, l'équipe est et sera toujours une équipe d'exécutants à la solde d'un "manager" Croyez-vous que cette situation est déplaisante pour un manager sans vision ? C'est lui qu'il faut accompagner en priorité

It’s also the product manager’s responsibility to highlight the customer need and pain in a way that the team can build to this vision, and understand the user day to day as if they are the user. In addition to that, a good PM will be transparent about the limitations and the constraints and will give the team a full picture to look at. The product manager is always busy, right? The best way to make sure that the team is independent is to give them all the information they need in order to make decisions when they are not available. He is not the leader but the enabler.

Additionally, it's crucial to provide the necessary resources, tools, and support to enable self-organizing behavior effectively. This includes investing in training and development opportunities, establishing clear guidelines and boundaries, and fostering a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement. Creating a conducive environment where autonomy is valued and supported empowers team members to unleash their full potential and drive success collectively.

The product manager should take an active role in the retrospective sessions in order to draw attention to areas where the product needs improvement and to offer brief examples of customer service issues. Since the entire development team attends retro meetings, the purpose is to communicate the problems with a wider audience and continually remind them of the product's ultimate goal.