Autonomy: Motivating Others by Loosening the Reins

I’ve written quite a bit in The YES! Leader about the factors that motivate people to be energized and engaged in their work. I just finished reading Dan Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and was struck by the insightful connections he draws among some of the same sources and concepts I’ve been surveying in The YES! Leader.

Today I’d like to deal with one particular aspect of Drive: Engaging people by creating an environment in which they can do their best work.

In Drive, Pink focuses on the role of autonomy as one of the most important factors in motivating people to achieve and excel. “Autonomy,” says Pink, “means acting with choice.” Autonomy is the discretion to decide how we’re going to do our work, or even to choose what tasks and projects we’ll pursue.

The power of autonomy is reflected in Vance Packard's commonly cited definition of leadership as "the art of getting others to want to do something you are convinced should be done.” The words want to are key here. People generally resist being pulled by the hand or pushed from behind; they prefer to lead themselves toward a goal that they’ve deliberately chosen to pursue. The former course breeds mere compliance (and thus doing just enough to get by), the latter deep commitment (and thus searching for new, creative ways to address problems and opportunities).

Pink cites a number of studies that show the motivating power of autonomy. In one study, writes Pink:

“Researchers found greater job satisfaction among employees whose bosses offered ‘autonomy support.’ These bosses saw issues from the employee’s point of view, gave meaningful feedback and information, provided ample choice over what to do and how to do it, and encouraged employees to take on new projects. The resulting enhancement in job satisfaction, in turn, led to higher performance on the job.”

Encouraging new projects … seeing things through others’ eyes … providing autonomy support … in this brief description alone, Pink echoes the components of the ExploreFlexSupport model that can guide a YES! Leader to inspire others to become the best they can be.

REFLECTIONS FOR THE YES! LEADER

Of course, allowing autonomy has its limits. Any leader needs to strike an appropriate balance between giving leeway and giving direction, depending on the experience of the individual and the needs of the situation.

But if you find yourself reluctant to explore ways to provide autonomy to others, ask yourself: Am I holding tightly onto the reins because of the needs of the situation – or because of my own needs?

Next time I’ll explore some practical tips for providing more autonomy to others in their work lives.