Also, watch: “Introducing the Gemba Sprint” (4 min)
Synopsis:
If teams are self-managing, why do you need managers?
This was the question that Google’s Larry page and Sergey Brin debated in 2001. Ultimately, they decided that that management was unnecessary and initiated what they called a Disorg and fired all managers.
A year later, there was an intellectual battle between them and their coach Bill Campbell regarding the value of managers until they finally agreed that they should just go ask the Engineers themselves. To their surprise, the Engineers wanted managers to return.
“These engineers liked being managed, as long as their manager was someone from whom they could learn something and someone who helped make decisions. ….”
Read more here.