What Next?

In this chapter we looked at what’s behind successful teams. Anyone who has ever been part of a high-performing team will know what it feels like when a group of people truly begin to gel, when everyone is committed to and enthusiastic about a shared goal, and when people know each other well enough to both support and hold each other accountable for great performance. These high-performing teams exist in software development and also in sports or in any area where a group of people need to manage their interdependencies while working toward a shared, compelling goal.

We established two options for structuring your workplace into teams—managerial selection and self-selection—and we introduced guidelines for when each of them is appropriate to use. By now you should be able to suggest self-selection as a valid approach at your organization and explain why it’s a good idea.

Next we’ll show you how to prepare for a large-scale self-selection event. You will get ideas, tools, and advice including a checklist for assessing your readiness, guidelines for the right number of rules and constraints, advice on logistics, and insights for how to create a custom-made facilitation plan.