Responsibilities of Self-directed Teams from the Team Coach

After finishing my team start-up book, Team Building Primer, I was considering writing a second team building book based on my experiences with teams at TI in moving from beginning quality circles and cell teams to SMWT and SDWT.  Then I re-read  the book The Team Coach (on Amazon #ad) by Donna Deeprose. Her book is the book I might have written, as it has examples from TI team facilitators and coaches from other companies.  The book contains great examples for leaders who are considering moving to more advanced teams.  It shares why you want self-motivated teams and what to expect from them.  It does have some suggestions and guidelines for corporate coaches and team facilitators.  However, it does not have many tools for the coach leading the teams.  Donna and I differ a little on the work that various types of teams do and hers is a good book for advanced teams. 

The Team Coach list of responsibilities for teams moving from supervision to self-directed is below.

New team:

• Schedule work 
• Assign tasks 
• Manage vacation schedule 
• Keep attendance 
• Solve problems 
• Monitor results 
• Schedule training

Maturing Team:

• Manage budgets
• Contact customers
• Communicate with vendors
• Participate in planning
• Participate in goal setting
• Participate in hiring

Mature Team:

• Determine Overtime
• Conduct performance appraisals
•  Discipline team members

Below are some team-building articles for additional reference on team design:

• Evaluate Team Performance and Determine Training Needs 
•  6 Requirements of Effective Team Membership 
• Planning Self-Managed Team Member Rotation  
• The 5 Stages of Team Development