AUTONOMY

Jul

2022

The Fourth Means Freedom

When I was a kid, I would go to Atlanta Braves baseball games with my dad. At the beginning of the game, like all sporting events, they would sing The Star-Spangled Banner. For the longest time I thought when they said “the home of the brave” they were saying the home of the “Braves.” How easily we can misunderstand something.

There is much to be said about the bravery of those who fought for the freedom of this nation. A nation where we have the freedoms such as speech, religion, to petition the government, assemble, and press. A nation where someone can move from another country, start a business, and become extremely successful. A nation where multiple ways of thinking can coexist and in healthy environments create great solutions to complicated problems.

Much can be said about freedom. Allow me to add a few thoughts and how it applies to our leadership.

Allows Creativity

My wife is not too fond of heights. A couple weeks ago we visited the Grand Canyon and she was adamant about the boys staying a few feet back from the edge. If we were somewhere with rails up she was much less anxious and the boys had more freedom to move about.

As leaders when we set clear expectations on the outcome and limits of the project the people we lead experience more creative freedom. This clarity allows the leader freedom to think creatively into ways to grow and expand. It also allows those being led room to creatively execute on what has been asked.

Autonomy

Daniel Pink in the book Drive suggests a key motivators for all people is autonomy. This is the ability to create a space for people to do their best work. Think about when you were a teenager. If your parents always hovered over you, once you got on your own you went wild and possibly in unhealthy ways.

When the people we lead have freedom to use their strengths and skills they will thrive. This does not mean we abandon those we lead. We still need to be accessible and clear expectations, but not micro-manage every step. Pink found research highlighting those businesses that offered autonomy grew four times as much as control-oriented firms.¹ Autonomy provides freedom from excessive control.

Tension

July 4^th 1776 the founders of the United States of America declared independence and freedom from Great Britain. In the more than two hundred years since that day it has not been smooth sailing. There have been many ideological tensions and wars.

As a leader there will be a temptation to control especially under stress. This is where the tension of maintaining a culture of freedom exists. Leaders must balance appropriate controls and accountability with the freedom for people to excel in their unique ways.

I wish leadership was set it and forget it, but leadership involves people. Part of our nature is to have tension. Tension is not always bad. When this is embraced in a healthy environment the team can create great solutions that make a profound impact. There will be battles, but they do not have to destroy the culture. Embrace the tension as an opportunity to grow and lean into listening and asking questions as a leader.

I am grateful to live in a country where we have the freedoms we do. As a leader you can create a culture of healthy freedom or unhealthy control. How are you doing in each of these areas? Need help evaluating the culture you have created as a leader? Contact me to discover any way I can serve you or your team. Lead well.

Pink, Daniel. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books: 2009.

Nov

2017

Motivating Others

I have spent many years coaching individuals and teams in athletics. (Different than executive coaching or business coaching) At one point during my time I had the opportunity to visit with the strength and conditioning coaches of the NFL Indianapolis Colts. Their job is to get these athletes to do the hardest and often least fun part of their workday. . . build and/or improve their strength, speed, and overall conditioning so they can continue to perform at peak levels.

When I was talking to them I asked them what they did to motivate the athletes. Their responded with a statement they use: “pay now and play later or play now and pay later.” These are adults they work with and they assumed their work ethic was pretty much developed therefore they left the decision up to them. The coaches provided the structure and all they needed, but ultimately the choice was up to the individual. It may help that in an elite sport culture there is always some new, young, better conditioned talent coming in to challenge their spot, but that is not the point.

These coaches were implementing one of the three principles author Daniel Pink describes in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Pink found that one of three keys to motivation is autonomy. Autonomy is simply independence or freedom to do something in a manner that seems appropriate to the individual.

Notice, these coaches did not simply open the doors and say the athletes could do whatever they wanted. They provided a structure and also provided a choice. Do it, or don’t, but there will be consequences for the choice: positive or negative.

What does this tell us about leading at work or at home?

Provide a structure – people need boundaries and some form of guidance, but they do not need to be micromanaged. If a child or adult needs micromanaging then they need to be challenged to take risks and know they are allowed to fail . . . and learn. As the leader we must be there to help them learn. We put the fence up in the playground and they can play wherever within that boundary.
Give them freedom – for a child, freedom to choose between two options. For example, clean up your room or don’t, that is your choice but there will be consequences. For the adult at work, assuming you have provided clear expectations and a clear purpose let them create the plan and as the leader check in to see what resources they need or if they need help processing.

There are more principles that can be drawn, but these two come to the front for me. When you look at your leadership at work or as a parent what do you need to improve on? Are you like me and you tend to over-control (aka micromanage) or do you not give clear enough structure and/or expectations? Do the people you lead have enough freedom to use their gifts, talents, and strengths or are you stifling them? Pause, reflect and take the next step to grow as a motivational leader.