Self-Management in Sintesia: Human to Human
Semco Style Story feat. Sintesia, Italy
Sintesia is a consulting firm that specializes in Lean Organization and Lean Production. Over the past 15 years, it has helped dozens of companies improve their business processes by implementing lean philosophy and techniques. Founded from a passion for efficiency and innovation, the company has experienced steady growth, employing a diverse and talented team of around 40 individuals. KanbanBOX, a sister company and the name of its flagship product, provides a cloud-based platform that simplifies supply chain management, making just-in-time manufacturing more accessible to businesses worldwide.
However, beyond the technical skill of their product, Sintesia’s true strength lies in its people. The company was at a critical juncture with a growing team and an increasing need for agility. Could they adapt their internal structures to align with the flexibility and efficiency they provided their clients? This is where their journey with Semco Style began—a transformative process that would challenge their views on leadership, autonomy, and organizational culture.
A journey with Semco Style
Sintesia stood at a crossroads. The company was filled with intelligent, driven individuals who built their careers on expertise, problem-solving, and innovation. Yet, something felt off. The leadership team increasingly grew frustrated with a paradox: despite having such skilled employees, decision-making was slow, bureaucracy was creeping in, silos were blocking communication, and engagement levels weren’t where they should be.
“We realized that the traditional hierarchical model was limiting our potential,” shared Miriam, a Key Account Manager and one of the leaders behind the transformation. This realization wasn’t a sudden epiphany but a growing awareness.
“Decentralize decision-making and build trust.”
“We had brilliant people, but we weren’t fully maximizing their potential. We needed a way to decentralize decision-making and foster trust,” Andrea reflected.
Miriam and Andrea, both deeply invested in the company’s success, kept facing roadblocks that appeared unnecessary. The more they examined the situation, the clearer it became: they were not dealing with a talent problem but rather a structural issue.
Starting with the Selfie Assessment
With their curiosity ignited and a desire for change affirmed, Sintesia took their first real step toward transformation: completing the Semco Style Selfie Assessment. It was a moment for reflection, a structured self-evaluation that uncovered strengths and long-unquestioned habits.
“It was an eye-opener!”
“It was an eye-opener! We realized that while we excelled in collaboration, we had deep-seated habits of top-down control,” admits Andrea. This realization was both exciting and unsettling. On one hand, they noticed that their employees wanted more autonomy. On the other, they recognized that years of operating within traditional structures had conditioned leaders and employees to seek approval before taking action.
The assessment provided several key insights:
- Employees conveyed a strong desire for greater responsibility and autonomy.
- A tendency to seek approval created bottlenecks in decision-making.
- Competencies should be collaborative rather than focused on individuals.
- The leadership’s vision for decentralization was evident; however, its implementation required a shift in mindset at all levels.
- The company is growing, and increasing people brings added complexity.
- A more effective leadership approach must be identified if they want to last for many years.
Understanding the problem was one thing; taking action was an entirely different matter. The real work was just beginning. Semco Style provided a structured methodology through the Framework and Roadmap, highlighting several similarities and connections to Lean Principles. From the Selfie, an evident strength in Trust and Alignment was identified, serving as the starting point for the journey. Like the Lean approach, they favored Kaizen (small incremental changes) over Kaikaku (significant step changes).
Then came the pivotal question—what if they could completely reconsider how they operated? What if they could delegate decision-making to the people doing the work? What if leadership concentrated less on control and more on empowerment? These were bold, daunting ideas, but they had found a name for the philosophy that matched their aspirations: Semco Style.
Current Progress
With insights from the assessment, Sintesia started implementing gradual but significant changes. True to their core values, these were not drastic reforms but small, intentional shifts in behavior and decision-making processes. Nonetheless, the impact was almost immediate.
Adults were treated like adults—responsible individuals. Now, employees who had once hesitated to take the initiative began to step up. Teams, previously accustomed to checking in with leadership for minor decisions, started making choices independently. “The biggest change? Trust. People no longer wait for permission; they take ownership,” Miriam emphasized.
“People don’t wait for permission anymore.”
This shift involved more than just workflows; it also encompassed culture. Key developments included:
- Introducing self-organized teams places decision-making in the hands of those closest to the work.
- Transitioning from rigid job descriptions to flexible roles allows individuals to contribute based on their strengths and interests rather than their titles.
- A culture of transparency where financial data, strategies, and key business decisions are openly shared with employees.
- Streamlined bureaucracy enabled the implementation of the €200 rule, allowing teams to purchase whatever they needed for their work without requiring approval or sign-off.
- Every three months, the company carries out a happiness indicator survey that enhances engagement and highlights areas for improvement.
- While they are not a completely remote company, they support remote work through flexible hours. Limited control measures enable teams to organize their work for maximum efficiency. Outcomes are defined but not excessively managed.
- Internal committees focused on specific topics, such as the Christmas dinner or the Sintesia Day format, which allowed people to explore new ways of working and fully understand what it means to own a project.
- Profit sharing has always been a part of the business culture, but introducing financial transparency has improved trust, alignment, and engagement at all levels.
- In 2025, the implementation of OKR (Objectives and Key Results) took place in projects. Now, goals are shared and aligned, fostering transparency and collaboration. As teams align with each other, it naturally breaks down silos and enhances cooperation.
- Participative recruitment connects individuals more closely to the organization’s values, as they are vital in choosing the right candidates. This leads to an effective onboarding process that integrates new employees successfully.
The new autonomy has energized employees and made the company more agile, responsive, and innovative. Still, they find time for fun. Monthly dinners are organized on Sintesia Day, where teams engage in various activities, such as cooking or socializing. Not everyone is always in the office in the consulting environment, which presents an excellent opportunity for engagement and relationship building.
Successes & Failures
The effects of these changes quickly became apparent. Employees showed greater engagement, decision-making sped up, and innovation flourished. Andrea summarized the transformation: “Productivity has increased, and employee satisfaction is higher than ever.”
Some of their biggest wins included:
- Faster decision-making: By eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic layers, teams can respond to challenges quickly and effectively.
- Committees enable and empower individuals, many of whom volunteer their time and go above and beyond to ensure success. Committees decide how to implement changes—leaders only provide the main objectives and boundaries, while the team manages the rest. This results in significant empowerment.
- Enhanced engagement: Employees experienced a more profound sense of purpose and connection to their work.
- An explosion of innovation: With newfound freedom, employees proposed and implemented ideas that would have previously been held up in approval cycles.
- Onboarding and training are used to develop hard skills and understand the new cultural shift.
However, transformation is never seamless. The shift to self-management did not garner universal enthusiasm. Some employees, who were used to traditional structures, found adjusting difficult. “Old habits die hard, and relinquishing control was challenging for some leaders,” admitted Andrea.
“People driven, not leader driven!”
The transition faced some challenges:
- Some employees were initially reluctant to embrace self-management. After years of functioning within a traditional system, the transition demanded confidence and accountability, which took time to cultivate.
- Leaders needed to unlearn conventional management behaviors and transition from being decision-makers to facilitators, a shift that was not always easy.
- The process required ongoing reinforcement; merely introducing new principles was insufficient. It had to be practiced, discussed, and refined over time.
- Finding the right balance between standards and common sense can be challenging. Standards are necessary because they come from ongoing experimentation instead of being enforced on individuals. However, there are moments when common sense proves to be more effective.
Mistakes occurred, and adjustments were needed. Nonetheless, every misstep offered a learning opportunity to refine their approach and move forward.
Lessons learned
Reflecting on their journey thus far, the Sintesia team identified several key takeaways:
- Trust is essential: Without a culture of trust, autonomy becomes just an empty term. Leaders need to actively show their trust in employees before those employees can genuinely embrace their newfound independence.
- Communication is crucial: Open and honest discussions are vital for managing resistance and ensuring alignment.
- Change happens gradually: Rather than attempting a complete transformation overnight, Sintesia introduced small, incremental changes that built momentum over time.
Andrea put it best: “Semco Style isn’t a one-time solution. It’s a shift in mindset that demands patience and commitment.” As Sintesia continues its journey, the leadership team recognizes that self-management is not a destination but an ongoing process. “We’re not done,” Miriam emphasized. “This is just the beginning.”
To the Future!
Sintesia’s transformation exemplifies the power of trust, autonomy, and continuous learning. Their goals remain optimistic, focusing on stabilizing the improvements achieved while raising awareness and understanding across all teams. The message is clear: self-management is not a utopian dream but a tangible, achievable reality. It begins with a commitment to change, a willingness to experiment, and an openness to unlearning old habits.
Semco Style Stories
WANT TO GET ACCESS TO OUR PREMIUM CONTENT?
Join the Semco Style Community as a Premium Member now!As a Premium Member, it gives you access to our premium content, neatly organized in our custom-made Semco Style Eco-System. Here you find 100+ detailed practices, tools, cases, and assessments. All content is designed to equip you with relevant information for tangible results. You can join weekly community events and reach out to our facilitators, partners, and experts, ready to support you on your journey to make change happen. One organization at a time!