AbstractAlthough most organizations realize the value of organizing employees into productive work teams, they also know that, in so doing, they cannot abdicate their responsibilities as managers and leaders. But what does this mean in terms of day‐to‐day managerial performance and strategy? As this case study shows, organizations reap the most benefits from empowered work teams not by expertly managing them, but by taking the time and making the effort to teach them to properly manage themselves.