Think of the best boss you’ve ever had. How did they allow you to shine? How much freedom did they give you to explore and test?
Daniel Pink popularized the concept of using autonomy to achieve better results in his successful book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. He described how a ROWE, a Results-Only Work Environment, encourages employees to get their work done without dictating how. “How they do it, when they do it, and where they do it is up to them.”
But how does a workplace perform without a manager, well, managing?
Multiple research papers reflect the fact that when workers are given autonomy they tend to have stronger job performance, higher job satisfaction and greater commitment to the organization. One such study links increased job autonomy with a 12% increase in worker satisfaction. And evidence indicates that autonomy is a key factor for the most satisfied employees.
Practicing autonomy by consciously avoiding micromanagement is a key theme Stephen Covey addressed in his iconic book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Covey was a master at teaching the power of autonomy, often using a story from his own life. When Covey started traveling more frequently for work, he asked family members to step up and help out with household chores. Covey’s son, 7-year-old Stephen M.R. Covey, volunteered to take care of the family’s yard.
The elder Covey set the expectation for a what-not-how mantra: green and clean. “You’re free to do it any way you want, except paint it.” While giving Stephen autonomy to do the work, he did offer help.
The young Covey was eager to learn. “How would you do it, Dad?”
“I’d turn on the sprinklers. But you may want to use buckets or a hose. It makes no difference to me. All we care about is the color green. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Covey spent about two weeks teaching and coaching young Stephen before turning the job over to his son. Covey made a point to tell Stephen that by taking the job of doing the yard it would be his job. He would trust young Stephen to keep the yard green and clean. And little Stephen’s boss would be himself—not Dad. But if little Stephen needed help he could ask his dad.
A few days passed, and the young Stephen Covey was doing what boys do—playing instead of doing his chores. Simply put, the yard was not staying green and clean. But Covey resisted the urge to jump in and start barking orders. Instead, Covey recommended they walk around the yard together, as they’d agreed, to check on Stephen’s progress. Young Stephen grew upset as they began to walk outside and evaluated how well he had done.
The dad gently referred back to their agreement; he would help if he had the time.
After a long pause, little Stephen timidly did ask his father for help. They got to work getting the lawn green and clean.
By giving his son freedom to care for the lawn whichever way he saw fit, Covey found a way to motivate his son to truly take ownership and embrace the work of maintaining the lawn. If Covey had drilled his son on how to do the work and mandated it be done a certain way, his son could easily become resentful about the task and less likely to make it his own.
Covey’s “green and clean” lesson may seem quaint, but the spirit of it is just as relevant to big business as it is your backyard, and a “what-not-how” approach has helped transform lots of business relationships.
Years later, Stephen M.R. Covery reflected on his version of the story in an interview. “I was a 7-year-old boy. I didn’t know what those words meant [win-win agreements and stewardship delegation], but here’s what I knew as a 7-year-old: I felt trusted. I felt my father trusted me. I didn’t want to let him down.”