Come Be A Leader in A Self-Directed Work Team: The Dynamics of the Transition from Being A Supervisor To A Team Leader

Although self-directed work teams (SDWT) have become popular since the mideighties, little modeling has been done on the dynamics of leadership in the formation, operation, and the sustainability of these groups. This paper describes preliminary efforts to model the dynamic problems of moving from a supervisor in a “command and control” environment to becoming a successful team leader in a supportive environment. In addition to modeling the leader’s effect on the work or the service being done, this model portrays such subjective processes as role ambiguity, fear of the unknown, trust in and commitment to the team, and the leader’s willingness to let go of traditional control functions. The model generates several qualitative patterns. It helps us to explore under what conditions newly formulated teams may be abandoned prematurely, and under what conditions supervisors can move to new productive roles when, at later stages, some important social loop processes dominate and performance grows.