Leading Workers to Lead Themselves: The External Leadership of Self- Managing Work Teams

The External Leadership of Self-Managing Teams: Intervening in the Context of Novel and Disruptive Events.

“…In particular, although the traditional leadership literature (dyadic, hierarchical leadership) has identified an enormous number of leader behaviors (see Yukl, 2002), it is not clear whether and how these behaviors are relevant in the self-managing team setting. The team leadership literature has identified either very broad categories of leader activities (e.g., Hackman & Walton, 1986) or a focused set of behaviors (e.g., Manz & Sims, 1987). For example, the functional leadership approach suggests that the role of the leader is to monitor the environment and then intervene when necessary.…”

“…The more supportive form of coaching reflects what Manz and Sims (1987) referred to as leading others to lead themselves. Essentially, external team leaders can act as a noninvasive resource for the team.…”

Developing a Taxonomy of Team Leadership Behavior in Self-Managing Teams

“…External leaders are often responsible for making key team decisions (e.g., hiring and firing, dealing with customers, purchasing equipment). Second, external leaders are well suited to perform certain team functions, including encouraging the team (Manz & Sims, 1987), managing the team's boundaries (Ancona, 1990), and dealing with unexpected problems or events that occur in the team context. Finally, research shows that external leaders are frequently found in team-based settings and can positively impact team functioning (Hackman, 2002;Manz & Sims, 1987;McIntyre & Salas, 1995).…”

“…Only a small amount of research has empirically examined what functions external leaders are well suited to perform (e.g., Ancona, 1990;Manz & Sims, 1987;Morgeson, in press) and how these functions promote effectiveness in self-managing teams. Further, the existing team leadership literature yields multiple conceptualizations of team leadership, numerous scales, and a variety of leader behaviors.…”

“…Examples of team leader behaviors in this category include supporting team selfmanagement (Cohen, Chang, & Leford, 1997;Manz & Sims, 1987), providing performance feedback (Komaki et al, 1989), and coaching the team (Edmondson, 1999;Kirkman & Rosen, 1999;Wageman, 2001). Although certainly helpful, these two general categories might not capture the full range of leader options when working with a team.…”