Making Autonomy Magic, Not Anarchic

f he were running a business today, how long would it take Scrooge McDuck to go bankrupt?
A smaller organisation that valued and respected its employees would wipe him out.
They’d beat him on price, quality and beating him to market. In fact, it’s hard to see how he’d wind up with a factory to run in the first place.
It’s so easy to point and laugh at Industrial Revolution-era management practices.
But, while child labour and tedious assembly jobs (hopefully) have no place in your organisation, dead 20th Century practices are still all too alive and well.
I’m talking about micromanaging and stifling bureaucracy, which work okay enough when you know the best way to solve the problem.
If you want employees to think for themselves, though?
Not so much.
Autonomy is great for business, because who knows the problems better than the folk who face them every day?
It’s also great for morale.
It’s hard to imagine an old-school factory worker giving his employees much freedom and flexibility. But the cubicles of yesteryear were no different in this regard. If you wanted to decide things, you had to earn it by rising through the ranks.
Talk about a recipe for stagnation. By the time you can change things, you’re too familiar with the system to think clearly. And even if you retain your creative spark, the bureaucracy has a way of fighting back.
So, yeah – autonomy is great.
But I know what some of you are thinking. There are limits to that. Sometimes you do know best. And some employees need a firm hand to keep them from goofing off on social media all day. So autonomy isn’t some magic bullet.
That’s true.
You know what is magic though?
Autonomy plus strong leadership.
Employees are free to do what they need to, while knowing they can’t cross the boundaries.
It’s win-win.
A difficult balance to strike?
Maybe.
But autonomy and strong leadership have one thing in common. Boost this common factor and these will balance themselves.
And that common factor is trust.
You can’t grant autonomy without trusting your employees. If you keep a close eye on the over their shoulder, that’s not really autonomy. That’s lying to them.
Unless you trust them to make mistakes, let alone decisions, then you’re still losing out on everything they have to offer.
As for strong leadership…
No one will follow you if they don’t trust you.
You might be a hardliner who tolerates no missteps.
Or you might be more of a collaborator.
Either style of leader can be weak or strong – and it all comes down to if they trust you. If your employees know and believe you have their interests at heart, and the skills to get results, then they’ll follow you.
Sure, sure. Some folk won’t like your style and will leave.
But overall, folk will follow who they trust.

The best way to enhance your organisation is with the ultimate advantage: trust.
But how do you measure something like that, let alone improve it?
Especially if your workforce is stretched thin, cynical and burned out on change?
There are simple, effective and proven strategies you can begin implementing today. I know you can unlock the creativity, productivity and joy of your employees.
Learn how today with my free white paper and all the resources you need to launch your own trust-based change initiative:
https://battenandking.com/advantage

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