In an ironic twist, the song “My Way” popularized by Frank Sinatra is one of the most covered songs of all time. From Elvis to Aretha Franklin to Sid Vicious to Jay-Z, dozens of popular artists (and millions of karaoke stars) have sung “My Way” in their own way.
Isn’t this evidence enough that humans crave autonomy?
This week’s reflection goes deeper on my reflection last week on self-determination and intrinsic motivation. As promised, we’ll explore autonomy, relatedness and competence (three fundamental psychological needs). By creating an environment that is supportive of meeting these three needs, you can unlock long-lasting motivation, resilience and creativity in yourself and the people you lead.
Let’s jump into autonomy.
Autonomy is best embodied by the statement, “I am willingly choosing to do this” as opposed to “I am being forced to do this” or “I should do this.”
This need for autonomy shows up pretty early in our lives…think about a toddler refusing to eat unless she can hold the spoon and feed herself.
The challenge for leaders in creating an environment of autonomy is twofold: First, it requires letting go of control. Second, autonomy is not one-size fits all. One person may feel a sense of autonomy with the responsibility to independently write the code for one feature of software. With the same task, another person would feel quite constrained. Autonomy for them is having ownership over the design all of the features of the software as well as the user interface.
If autonomy is not one-size fits all, how do you figure out the right amount of responsibility to give the people you lead while still meeting their need for autonomy?
Consider the three C’s - complexity, capability and communication. The amount of responsibility to give each person depends on the degree of complexity of the task as well as the capability level of the person with respect to that specific task. Once you’ve determined how much responsibility to give them, it is critical to communicate the expectations clearly.
If the highest performer is leading a moderate complexity task, set expectations and then get out of the way and let them execute. If a “B player” is overseeing a complex project, then a high degree of decision-making independence on this project is not the answer. You can still create moments that meet their need for autonomy by having them come to you with options, while you still reserve the right to make decisions.
In both cases, leaders need to be explicit with their teams regarding how much responsibility they are giving them AND position the task in a way that emphasizes where they have autonomy. It’s even better if the leader can signal how each team member can work toward more autonomy over time.
One tool I find useful is “The Responsibility Ladder.” Roger Martin developed this tool to give leaders and their teams a common language and to help leaders move away from the binary concept of “I’m in charge” vs. “You’re in charge” which often results in de-motivating teams. The goal is to coach and guide team members “up” the ladder, so they can take on increasingly responsibility and as a result, continue to have their need for autonomy met.
Additional “actions” to increase autonomy on your teams:
Give teams choices within boundaries: For example, empower team members to propose their own deadlines based on the constraints of the broader project plan. Another example is giving the team options regarding flexible work (for jobs where this is feasible).1
Treat mistakes as learning opportunities: Rather than assign blame when a team member makes a mistake, push them to 1) identify lessons learned and 2) come up with a game plan on how they will apply those lessons to turn things around.
Hire A players: It is easier to find ways to meet autonomy needs when we hire people whose capabilities are a strong fit to the activities you need them to lead and who have a track record of learning quickly.
Some questions I reflected on this week
What can I do this week to increase my own sense of autonomy? (re-frame my beliefs on autonomy, seek out autonomy outside of the work setting)
On a scale of 1-10 (where 10 = excellent), how effective am I at giving my team autonomy?
What are 1-2 experiments that I can try this week that would increase the score I gave myself by half a point (from an 6 to a 6.5)?
This Harvard Business Review article has some great suggestions on how to navigate the hybrid world while giving our teams autonomy.