3: Can employees really manage themselves? At W. L. Gore and Associates, self-managed teams have helped create a a thriving business that has operated profitably for more than 50 years.78 Gore is a manufacturer that develops innovative solutions for demanding and extreme environments.
Focusing primarily on protective fabrics, Gore products might be found in clothing worn by climbers tackling Mt. Everest or in medical implants for the human body. You may have used their best-known product, Gore-Tex fabric, in a pair of gloves that keep your hands warm even in the coldest temperatures.
Self-management is not new or not just a trend at Gore. It’s a management structure that has been in place since the company was founded in 1958. The company has no titles, no bosses, and no hierarchy. Employees work in self-managed teams of 8 to 12 employees, and they make all of the decisions, including hiring and pay. This structure was created by company founders Wilbert “Bill” Lee and Genevieve Gore. In creating this type of structure, their goal was to combat traditional management practices and encourage innovative thinking. There is a CEO and some other respected leaders, but otherwise no clear management structure exists. The current CEO, Terri Kelly, stepped into the role in 2005 after 22 years with the company.
While she’s in charge, she was selected by a peer-driven process.
Why does it work? In this self-managed environment, employees are committed to make the organization a success, and everyone is working in the company’s best interest. Employees are all partial owners of the company, which encourages them to focus on the company’s success. Each employee has the freedom to decide what he or she will work on, but then also must make a commitment to deliver. There are leaders in the organization, but they are determined by who is willing to follow them. The test of leadership is this: If you call a meeting, does anyone show up?
Self-management could easily turn into chaos, especially with more than 10,000 employees. However, Gore has a culture that reinforces the expectations for performance of the selfmanaged teams. The company has established norms of behavior and expected guidelines to follow. It often takes more time for decisions to be made because of the need for team buy-in when making the decision. But once decisions are made, actions are completed more quickly because the buy-in already exists. The self-managed teams at Gore aren’t built easily. They spend a lot of time building relationships and building trust. This foundation of trust helps the team work better together, as everyone knows everyone else is working toward the same goals.
Could any company duplicate Gore’s management practices? Probably not, say many management experts.
Self-managed teams aren’t effective in just any company.
Self-managed teams are most appropriate in organizations where innovation is strategically important. They’re also a useful structural approach in environments that change rapidly.
Finally, in order for self-managed teams to be a success, a company must also have strongly shared values that direct work activities and employees.
Discussion Questions

1. Describe Gore’s approach to self-managed teams.
2. Why is organizational culture so critical to the success of self managed teams?
3. Using Exhibit 9-6, what characteristics of effective teams would these self-managed teams need? Explain.
4. Would you want to work at W.L. Gore and Associates? Why or why not?
5. Working in your assigned group, make a list of challenges that organizations with self-managed teams would face. Then, discuss ways that these challenges could be addressed.