Self-management has become increasingly widespread and employees are increasingly expected to be able to manage themselves. Especially during Corona, there has been an increased need for self-managing employees who can independently plan their workday and organise and execute tasks that support the company's goals.
However, self-management places great demands on the manager and requires that the manager is able to create a motivating work environment while communicating and defining the overall strategy, direction and goals of the organisation so that employees have a clear framework within which to work.
Benefits and challenges of self-management
Self-management can be a great motivator for many employees. This is because employees are given more freedom to prioritise tasks and perform. With increased responsibility, employees often become more engaged in their tasks and more motivated to succeed.
As a result, many organisations find that self-management can help create more responsible, empowered and engaged employees. With self-management, many employees will also take more initiative and have a greater sense of responsibility when it comes to formulating and executing strategies aimed at achieving company goals.
Self-management therefore has many benefits for both employees and the organisation. However, there are also some challenges or disadvantages when employees take on some of the management tasks. One of the main challenges is that there is an increased risk of employees developing stress. For example, if employees find it difficult to put work aside or if they have difficulty prioritising, planning and structuring tasks and are therefore under pressure.
In addition, one of the disadvantages can be that management becomes more absent and does not provide sufficient support, backing and sparring to the employees who need it. This can also mean that only the strongest employees succeed and thrive with self-management. Self-management therefore also places great demands on the manager.
Self-managing employees put new demands on management
Self-leading employees require the right leadership. In order to have employees who are able to manage themselves, you as a manager need to create a framework for employees that helps them prioritise their tasks in order to contribute to achieving the company's goals.
As a manager, you need to be able to define the company's strategy and make it clear to employees how they can contribute their competences to achieve the company's goals and results and create more value for the company.
As a manager of self-managing employees, you need to delegate more so that the employee can organise their own time and tasks. It's also important that you are available and visible when the employee needs sparring, advice and support.
Self-management therefore requires insightful leadership that is able to trust employees, set up concrete frameworks and provide the necessary support to those employees who need it. We are all different and work differently. It is therefore also important that management recognises this and manages employees based on this knowledge.
Strengthen your leadership skills for self-managing employees
To fully realise the benefits and success of self-managing employees, it's a good idea to develop your own leadership skills. Through the use of different tools, you can strengthen your leadership skills in relation to managing self-managing employees. For example, DISC analysis and situational leadership are suitable tools for self-management.
DISC analysis
A DISC analysis is an analysis tool used to gain greater insight into people's behaviour, motivation, strengths and development areas. This can help you delegate tasks and assess how much support and coaching each self-manager needs for each task.
The DISC analysis can also be an effective management tool for self-management to strengthen communication between you as a manager and your employees. With a DISC analysis, you gain greater insight into which communication style suits different types of people. This can be beneficial in terms of customising communication to each individual employee.
Situational leadership
Situational leadership is also an effective management tool that can help you target your management style and customise your messages to each employee's skill level and to the specific situation.
Situational leadership can also be used to gain a greater understanding of your own strengths and development areas in relation to the four influence styles: the instructing, selling, supporting and delegating influence styles.
Especially when it comes to self-management, it's a good idea to know which influencing style to use in each situation and for each employee. This way, you can better manage self-managing employees and help them develop to work more independently and become better at making independent decisions.
We give you the tools for self-management
As a manager, you need both self-awareness and insight into your employees' strengths, competences and motivational areas. To be able to set direction, create a framework, show support and communicate appropriately to the self-managing employees in your organisation, it's important to have some good management tools that you can use on a daily basis to manage your employees.
At HR Solutions, you can find various self-management solutions that you can use to manage self-managing employees, among other things. Interested in learning more about our self-management solutions? Contact us by email info@hrsolutions.dk or by phone 70 26 32 25.
English 
Danish 
Norwegian