2. A “Legacy” Mindset
•Efficiency can be achieved best by imposing management
control over workers' behavior
•Control-oriented management models strengthen the
interests of both organizations and the people who work in
them
3. An Emerging Mindset
• A new work force management model is appearing
• This emerging model is that organizations must elicit the commitment of
their employees if they are to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in
contemporary markets.
• This new model portends a fundamental change in how organizations are:
• Designed
• Managed
• Rather than relying on top-down management controls to elicit and enforce
desired behavior, organizations in the future will rely heavily on member
self-management in pursuing collective objectives
4. Scrum Guide (2020) / Hackman (1986)
“According to the
Scrum Guide (2020),
Scrum Teams are also
self-managing, meaning
they internally decide
who does what, when,
and how”
Hackman, J. R. (1986-2). The psychology of self-management in organizations. American Psychological Association
Scrum Guide (2020)
5. Hackman: Group Effectiveness Defined
1. The degree to which the group's productive output (that is, its product or
service) meets the standards of quantity, quality, and timeliness of the people
who receive, review, and/or use that output.
2. The degree to which the process of carrying out the work enhances the
capability of members to work together interdependently in the future.
3. The degree to which the group experience contributes to the growth and
personal well-being of team members.
6. 1. Clear, Engaging Direction
2. An Enabling Performing Unit Structure
3. A Supportive Organizational Context
4. Available, Expert Coaching
5. Adequate Material Resources
Hackman's Five Conditions That Foster and
Support Effective Self-Management
Hackman, J. R. (1986-2). The psychology of self-management in organizations. American Psychological Association
7. “Leadership is
both more
important and a
more demanding
undertaking in
self-managing
units than it is in
traditional
organizations”
Hackman, J. R. (1986-2). The psychology of self-management in organizations. American Psychological Association
8. • Orientated Clear direction energizes people; it orients
organization members toward common objectives, thereby
facilitating coordinated action in pursuing them.
• Engagement is enhanced when aspirations have three attributes:
1) Consequential
2) Stretches members’ energy and talent
3) Simultaneously rich in imagery and incomplete in detail
• Clear direction energizes people, even when the goals that are
articulated may not rank highest on members' personal lists of
aspirations.
• Provides a criterion unit members to use in testing and
comparing alternative possibilities for their behavior at work.
First Condition: “Clear, Engaging Direction”
9. Second Condition: An Enabling Performing
Unit Structure
• Sent expectations regarding the management
of unit member’s performance processes
• Composition of the unit
• Design of the task
10. Daniel Pink
Self-Determination Approach: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose Framework
“….The surprising truth about what motivates us”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
11. Third Condition: A Supportive Organizational
Context
• Information systems
• Education
• Reward
14. The Critical Leadership
Functions for a
Self-Managing Unit
Two types of behavior:
• Monitoring—
obtaining and interpreting data
about performance conditions
and events that might affect them
• Taking Action –
to create or maintain favorable
performance conditions.
15. There are two types of functions:
monitoring & action-taking
For each of the five enabling
conditions: direction, structure,
context, coaching, resources
Leader Monitoring and Action Log
16. Selecting Leaders of Self-Managers
There are three qualities that might be measured when people are being considered
for leadership roles—qualities that probably are not trainable in the short term.
#1. Courage
#2. Emotional Maturity
17. Selecting Leaders of Self-Managers
#3. Clear and Appropriate Personal Values
• An internalized commitment to both organizational effectiveness and human
well-being.
• Leaders who are confused about what they personally value find it difficult to
choose among competing options for action.
• Although almost any clear set of values can be used as the basis for managing
one’s own behavior, one cannot be agnostic about the content of those
values in considering how to select leaders of self-managers
• Only individuals who genuinely value both collective outcomes and the
growth and satisfaction of unit members are likely to invent and implement
conditions that promote the two values simultaneously—something that surely
is necessary if a self-managing unit is to be effective over the long term.
18. 1. Clear, Engaging Direction
2. An Enabling Performing Unit Structure
3. A Supportive Organizational Context
4. Available, Expert Coaching
5. Adequate Material Resources
Review: Hackman's Five Conditions That Foster and
Support Effective Self-Management
Hackman, J. R. (1986-2). The psychology of self-management in organizations. American Psychological Association
19. References
Conklin, J. (2005). Dialogue mapping: Building shared understanding of wicked problems. John Wiley & Sons,
Inc..
Connors, R., & Smith, T. (2009). How did that happen? Holding people accountable for results the positive,
principled way. Penguin.
Grint, K. (2010). Leadership: A very short introduction. OUP Oxford
Grint, K. (2010). Wicked problems and clumsy solutions: the role of leadership. In The new public leadership
challenge (pp. 169-186). Palgrave Macmillan, London
Grint, K., & Jones, O. S. (2022). Leadership: Limits and possibilities. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Hackman, J. R. (1986-1). The design of work teams. In J. W. Lorsch (Ed.), Handbook of organizational behavior.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Hackman, J. R. (1986-2). The psychology of self-management in organizations. American Psychological
Association
Hackman, J. R..& Walton, R. E. (1986). Leading groups in organizations. In P. S. Goodman (Ed.), Designing
effective work groups. San Francisco. Jossey- Bass.
Rittel, H. (1972). On the planning crisis: Systems analysis of the 'first and second generations’.
Bedriftskonomen, 8, 390-396.
Pink, D. H. (2011). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. Penguin.
Schwaber, K., & Sutherland, J. (2020). The Scrum Guide.
Editor's Notes
Clear, Engaging Direction
Orientated organization members toward common objectives, thereby facilitating coordinated action in pursuing them.
Clear direction energizes people, direction should be:
consequential—i.e., what is to be accomplished has a visible and substantial impact on others, be they customers, co-workers, or other unit members
stretch members’ energy and talent—i.e., achieving them is neither routine nor impossible
simultaneously rich in imagery and incomplete in detail, thereby providing room for members to add their own meanings to the aspirations
Clear direction energizes people, even when the goals that are articulated may not rank highest on members' personal lists of aspirations.
Provides a criterion for unit members to use in testing and comparing alternative possibilities for their behavior at work.
#1.
Ambiguity about what the collectivity exists to achieve is lessened, which reduces the amount of time and energy people spend arguing about questions of purpose or wallowing around trying to figure out what is to be accomplished.
When direction is made clear, some people may discover that it is not to their liking—a stressful state of affairs, but one that ultimately is constructive. As some people decide not to join the unit and others decide to leave, the unit should be populated increasingly by individuals who are interested in aligning themselves with collective directions.
A far more difficult situation exists when organizational directions are distasteful or alienating to the majority of members and potential members. There is no real possibility for effective self management in such a situation, and organizational control of member behavior is likely to be a continuing problem that may never be satisfactorily resolved (Walton & Hackman, 1986).
#1.
People seek purpose in their lives and are energized when an attractive purpose is articulated for them.
a clear statement of organizational direction can energize people by adding to the meaning and purpose they find in their work. Some purposes are, of course, more engaging than others. Research suggests that engagement is enhanced when aspirations have three attributes:
Factor #2: An Enabling Performing Unit Structure
Design of the task
Composition of the unit
Sent expectations regarding the management of performance processes
First, unit members must understand that they are responsible for regulating their own behavior. This is, of course, the core expectation for any self-managing unit. Unless members accept it, they will be unlikely to adjust their performance strategies as circumstances change.
The second critical expectation is that unit members are obligated to continuously assess the performance situation (with particular attention to changes in the tasks or environment) and to actively plan how they will proceed with the wok based on those assessments.
When the two ingredients I have discussed so far are present (that is, the performing unit has clear, engaging direction and an enabling structure), a solid basis for effective self-management is established.
3. A Supportive Organizational Context
Reward
Education
Information systems
3. A Supportive Organizational Context
Reward
Education
Information systems
3. A Supportive Organizational Context
Reward
Education
Information systems
Do, or get done, whatever is not being adequately handled for group needs” (p. 5).
Ensure that all functions critical to both task accomplishment and group maintenance are adequately taken care of, then the leader has done his or her job well.
First a leader would assess the outcome states at the right of the figure, and then work backwards to identify (and ultimately do something about) performance conditions that may be contributing to performance problems or missed opportunities. “How is the unit doing?” the leader would ask. “Are there signs of problems in the task work, in members’ ability to work together interdependently, or in the quality of individuals’ experiences in the unit?” When problems, unexploited opportunities, or negative trends are noted, he or she would examine the process indicators in the center of the figure to learn more about what may be going on.
Then, guided by the answers to the diagnostic questions, the leader’s attention would turn to the conditions at the left of the figure. “Which performance conditions most need strengthening? How are we doing in direction, in structure, in context supports, in hands-on assistance, in resources?” If it turns out that performance conditions are suboptimal, the leader’s challenge is to invent (the word is chosen deliberately) ways of behaving that may remedy a deficiency or exploit an unrealized opportunity. The five enabling conditions I have been discussing would serve as criteria for a leader to use in comparing and evaluating alternative behaviors. This invent-and-test strategy is far easier to use than one that requires a leader to learn a table of contingencies specifying exactly what behaviors should be exhibited in what particular circumstances—and then to regulate his or her behavior in accord with that table. The present strategy also should encourage innovation and creativity in leader behavior.
Note: Only two out of the five key conditions (setting direction, and coaching/consultation) involve leader-unit relations centrally; the other three (structuring the unit, tuning the organizational context, and providing material resources) are oriented toward the situation in which the unit functions.
If this model has validity, then effective leaders would be observed to spend at least as much of their time and energy working with peers and senior managers as they do with unit members, monitoring and taking action vis-a-vis all five of the performance conditions.
A leader who attempts to foster unit effectiveness primarily through hands-on work with unit members when the surrounding performance situation is flawed and unsupportive would be predicted to fail.
Courage:
(1) A willingness to buck the tide (and social norms) when necessary to create conditions required for effectiveness.
(2) To help a unit address and modify dysfunctional dynamics
(3) A leader may need to challenge group norms and disrupt established routines—and may risk incurring some anger
in doing so
(4) To improve a unit’s contextual supports or to increase the resources available to it, a leader may need to rock the
organizational boat
(5) Note: the ability to move toward anxiety-arousing states of affairs in the interest of learning about them and doing
something about them (rather than moving away to get the anxiety reduced as quickly as possible)
Emotional maturity:
the ability to move toward anxiety-arousing states of affairs in the interest of learning about them and doing something
about them (rather than moving away to get the anxiety reduced as quickly as possible)
Clear and appropriate personal values:
(1) Although almost any clear set of values can be used as the basis for managing one’s own behavior, one cannot be agnostic
about the content of those values in considering how to select leaders of self-managers.
(2) Only individuals who genuinely value both collective outcomes and the growth and satisfaction of unit members are likely
to invent and implement conditions that promote the two values simultaneously—something that surely is necessary if a
self-managing unit is to be effective over the long term.
Courage:
(1) A willingness to buck the tide (and social norms) when necessary to create conditions required for effectiveness.
(2) To help a unit address and modify dysfunctional dynamics
(3) A leader may need to challenge group norms and disrupt established routines—and may risk incurring some anger
in doing so
(4) To improve a unit’s contextual supports or to increase the resources available to it, a leader may need to rock the
organizational boat
(5) Note: the ability to move toward anxiety-arousing states of affairs in the interest of learning about them and doing
something about them (rather than moving away to get the anxiety reduced as quickly as possible)
Emotional maturity:
the ability to move toward anxiety-arousing states of affairs in the interest of learning about them and doing something
about them (rather than moving away to get the anxiety reduced as quickly as possible)
Clear and appropriate personal values:
(1) Although almost any clear set of values can be used as the basis for managing one’s own behavior, one cannot be agnostic
about the content of those values in considering how to select leaders of self-managers.
(2) Only individuals who genuinely value both collective outcomes and the growth and satisfaction of unit members are likely
to invent and implement conditions that promote the two values simultaneously—something that surely is necessary if a
self-managing unit is to be effective over the long term.
