The advantage of #NoHierarchy / Agile management – engagement

This is one benefit that is the first to notice. If you measure people engagement at work (anonymously) within three to six months, you’ll see a significant increase in engagement. After starting any agile management initiative, engagement will drop, raise, fell again and then grow to the highest level. That is a typical pattern for any behavior that can be described with the chaos theory. Know of this pattern. Use it to set yours and other people’s expectations.

Self-Management and self-organized teams are the two main factors behind engagement. When people have the freedom to make their own decisions, they are committed making their decision a reality. They own their decision, and they own the execution. The realization that you make your own choices and you are responsible for implementing your decisions makes people more engaged as they feel that they control themselves. They feel and think like owners that can make a difference. Self-organization makes it better by enabling people to have control with whom they are working and to create a culture and environment that fits each team’s individuals.

Increased engagement will come with significant business performance improvement. It is hard for managers to stay away from control, put aside their wise advice and let people manage themselves as well as teams to organize themselves. The benefits of avoiding classical hierarchical behavior, have significant advantages to any organization or business.