bol.com "Autonomy in self-managing teams"
"Autonomy in self-managing teams"
Below you can read various articles from bol.com about autonomous working.
By: Judith Verkerk (Spark coach, bol.com)
You would think that the days of clocking in and out, doing the same job your whole life and doing what the 'boss' says are well and truly over. However, I have seen this happen often enough within all kinds of organizations. I have noticed that bureaucracy and hierarchy do not lead to entrepreneurship and effectiveness. When I joined bol.com a year ago, it was a breath of fresh air. I embraced the philosophy of this company with open arms.
As Harm mentioned in his blog, bol.com not only uses SCRUM as its working method, but also Spark: our own bol.com method for working in self-organizing teams. The key words we have defined within Spark are autonomous, goal-driven, and effective collaboration. But what does this actually mean within Spark?
In these articles, I will take a closer look at autonomy within Spark. An autonomous team does not mean that there is no structure and that everyone can just do their own thing. On the contrary, structure is very important within Spark.
Team goals as organizational structure
A Spark team is also referred to as a circle. Each circle has a carefully defined goal that contributes to the overarching goal and ultimately to the shared goal of bol.com. The organizational structure is less about functional departments and more about teams working on specific goals.
These circles are responsible for achieving their specific goals. This requires entrepreneurship and taking responsibility, but also holding each other accountable for these responsibilities.
Article | bol.com "Autonomy in your role"
Within the roles and responsibilities you have in the Spark team, you are also free to decide for yourself how you will achieve your goals. You can make your own decisions and set your own priorities within these frameworks.
To prevent everyone from working independently of each other, transparency and good cooperation are essential. During work-related meetings, a brief update is always provided on the relevant projects compared to the previous week. All members of a team are included in this. In addition, anyone can submit a "Spark" for the agenda. A "Spark" is a tension, a barrier, or an idea that you want to discuss in order to move forward.
Whereas the agenda was previously often determined by one person, it is now up to the team to draw it up in consultation. All team members are allowed to hold each other accountable for responsibilities and express expectations. The fact remains that as a team, you are responsible for achieving the circle's goal.
Article | bol.com "Autonomy in a team setting"
Deciding for yourself 'how' you as a team will achieve your goal also means deciding for yourself how you are organized as a team. Within Spark, it is important to define clear roles and responsibilities. These make it possible to achieve the goal of the circle. That is why, in addition to a work-related meeting, there is also arole meeting. In this role meeting, you only discuss the way in which you are organized as a Spark team.
The rolling consultation
During the role consultation, you can, for example, propose adding a responsibility to your role or to another role. This ensures that this function is also filled within the circle. A requirement is that this responsibility contributes to the goal of the circle and does not represent a step backward for the team.
Previously, your manager was the only one who could make changes to your job profile, and that sometimes took quite some time. Now, it's the role of 'your new manager' and you can make a lot of changes in just an hour.