Managment in a team with very independent directs

Hi,

I've recently started a new career. I work in a team of six professionals with a team leader. The professionals are assigned projects (which they can accept, decline and/or juggle between them). The atmosphere is very cordial, with open dialogue and everyone prepared to help each other. This is especially important for me, being the newest member of the team and the least experienced professionally. Each professional is given a lot of independence and, in return, is expected to manage his/her projects and clients. The team leader avoids terms such as 'manager', 'boss', or 'supervisor'. We all work from home several days a week, communicating a lot by phone and Skype, on top of the normal emails. In fact, I often don't see a team member or the team leader for an entire week.

I feel that this is a somewhat unusual situation. As much as I'm enjoying it, I'm wondering what the best approaches are for managing a team like this, including how to 'manage' my team leader (i.e. get the most out of him - he's a great teacher and a great guy).  At the moment, there is minimal management, structure or routine. I have recently asked to introduce periodic reviews; my team leader instantly agreed (for me, at least) and scheduled such a review a few weeks away. So, in general, my team leader is receptive, but I imagine he, the team (and myself) won't want to move too far away from the current practice.

Any tips?

Thanks,

Paul