A few years ago, I was asked to speak about autonomy at an event in Birmingham. Before the event, I looked up the definition of the word and found this:
Autonomy comes from ‘auto’ meaning “self” and nomos meaning “custom” or “law.”
This reflects a person’s right to self-government or self-rule.
When a person seeks autonomy, he or she would like to be able to make decisions independently from an authority figure.
Self-governance…. governing yourself…
I mean I’m all in for that but the thing is, our ability to self-govern ourselves is literally bashed out of us from a young age, which means that we need to change our mindset around autonomy if we’re going to truly empower the people in our businesses.
It starts with our education…
I recommended Duolingo to my niece a few months ago. My niece is 13 and seems to have a bit of a natural flair for languages so I thought she’d love to to be able to learn more on Duolingo.
She set up her account but after a week or so she told me that she likes it but she doesn’t want to spend time on it anymore because it doesn’t teach her the things she needs to learn at school….
And I get it. I don’t blame her really.
Our learning is defined and in many ways limited by the things that we need — to pass the tests — to get the grades — to please the education assessors — to attract the parents — to enable the politicians — to tick the boxes that show…
We’ve done well.
With experiences like this, we are celebrated for limiting our output to the confines of what we are told to do.
We are literally taught the exact opposite of autonomy.
Everyone is a CEO of their role.
In the world of Holaracy, we’re taught that everyone should be the CEO of their own role/s, ruthlessly pursuing the purpose of their role and showing up like the boss of their specific accountabilities and responsibilities.
It’s an attractive prospect and one that many CEO’s would LOVE to achieve in their businesses… Or would they?
It’s not just the worker bees who have been conditioned into doing what they are told. Those of us who have enjoyed positions of leadership, might well have been conditioned into the comfort zone illusion of control that these roles often come with.
It’s not just your workers who need to shift their mindset towards autonomy, it’s you and your leaders too.
The tricky dilemma for leaders…
Leaders of businesses are often highly capable, highly intuitive and naturally skilled at what they do. That’s why you’re in charge right?!
So how do you and your leaders balance your own knowledge and understanding of the best ways to get things done with the reality that the more you let go of your ‘control’, the more autonomy and trust you will develop in your people?
I’ve developed a manifesto for autonomy… a list of all the things that you can do to develop a culture of autonomy in your business.
Just remember, we’re unlearning a whole lifetime of conditioned behaviour here so be patient, get support where you need it and keep focussing on where you want to get to.
It’s a question of mindset.
A Manifesto For Autonomy
1. Self-Awareness is key for developing a culture of autonomy in your business.
You and your leaders have to be honest about how they might be stifling autonomy and why they feel the need to be in control.
2. Just because you’ve made a decision to create a more autonomous culture, doesn’t mean your people will be on board with the idea straight away.
Don’t forget, we’ve all been brought up in a world where it’s best for us to do what we’re told and this squashes any innate sense of autonomy we might have.
3. Understand your why.
Find your own narrative for why you want to shift things towards autonomy. What’s the reason you feel that a ‘predict and control’ kind of culture isn’t working?
4. Start slowly.
Don’t rip the band aid off before your people have had time to adjust. Find one small project that you can fully hand over; define the terms, explain the outcomes and create agreed ways that you can monitor what’s happening.
5. Invite your people to contribute to the creation of their job roles.
Enable them to define all of the different aspects of their role/s, create a purpose for each one* and come up with role names that they engage with.
*Check out the inspiration page of my website to find real life examples from two companies who have done this.
6. Consider bringing in an external facilitator to run a workshop or meeting and then set yourself the task of saying nothing during the session.
Sometimes as leaders we never get to see how well our teams step up to the mark because our own influence stifles them.
7. Create peer learning networks within your business.
There is more knowledge and understanding available outside the top-down structure. All of the wisdom in the business doesn’t have to come from you.
8. Define the things that are non-negotiable in your business and make them clear for all of your people.
Set the boundaries that you still need to happen so you can be confident in the results without needing to have your finger in all the pies.
9. Shift your meeting culture.
Meetings that are led by the same people every time, support the same behaviours we’re trying to unlearn. Create some meeting processes and have different people facilitate them so everyone knows what to expect and how to contribute.
10. Go easy on yourself and your leaders.
This is a shift that takes time. Provide spaces where you can talk about what’s happening, how it feels and what’s working well. There is no magic wand for autonomy but once you get there, you will notice the impact on your people, your results and your wellbeing.
You can’t outsource autonomy.
More than anything, whilst there are an increasing number of frameworks, tools and practices that will help your people own their autonomy, none of them will do the work for you.
Engage with the tools available but don’t rely on them as the silver bullet.
Autonomy truly is a mindset.
If you would like to work with me and discover ways to lead beyond hierarchy within your business, please reach out. I’d love to chat with you.
And if you enjoyed this article, please share it with your network by email or on socials.
“You are incredible. You put in so much effort and sincere love into growing and developing your life and it does have an impact. Now, if only you gave yourself half the credit you deserve…”
Anon.
