How can I make my team more autonomous?
In the context of Management 3.0, the role of the leader is to encourage self-organization in his teams. The leader creates an environment where each team member can take ownership of the change. However, for this self-organization to be effective, the team needs not only your permission, but also your trust as a manager.
To do this, you need to support individual responsibility and value everyone's involvement. This means putting in place strategies that enable each member to feel part of their own solutions, while supporting them in their initiatives.
Developing skills
To make your team more autonomous and self-organized, it is essential to encourage the acquisition of new skills. A team cannot achieve its objectives if its members lack the necessary skills. It's up to the manager to actively contribute to their development. This involves two things: firstly, accompanying your team in their progress to encourage them to take more initiative and responsibility, and secondly, developing your own ability to initiate conversations as a leader.
Reflecting on your contribution as a leader
As a manager, it's essential to examine your impact on your team. After all, your own actions potentially limit their autonomy. Do you tend to take on more? Are you reluctant to delegate to get things done faster? Do you give your team time to think through a problem or make mistakes? Sometimes, leaders can get in the way of their team's autonomy without realizing it. Delegating more and having conversations are the keys to developing the autonomy you want for your team.
Talk to your employees about what's preventing them from taking on more autonomy at work. Is it a lack of confidence or clarity? Are they uncomfortable? Once you have the answers, you can adjust your behavior and encourage your team to take on more responsibility in order to engage fully.
Facilitate conversations
During meetings with your team, it's important for the leader to play the role of facilitator to find collective solutions. One of the keys to making communication flow more smoothly is to use conversational structures and repeat them to develop habits and new ways of thinking. The aim is not to guide them towards ready-made solutions, but rather to reason and arrive at a solution together. So it's by accompanying and coaching your team that you can teach them how to solve a problem more effectively.
For example, if you're responsible for training new managers, how would you approach them? Would you give them all your solutions, or would you instead ask them questions to identify their way of thinking and potential blind spots? By doing so, you could then have a conversation about what works and what can be improved in their thinking.
An empowering corporate culture
Greater individual responsibility within your team also requires a corporate culture that is conducive to talent development. Promote an internal culture that emphasizes collaboration and continuous improvement. It's also by defining a clear vision and objectives that you support your team's ability to adapt and innovate.
To conclude
Your employees are your organization's most valuable asset, and as a manager, you must do everything you can to foster their creativity, motivation and productivity. That's why you need to develop their skills and get them to communicate more effectively. In this way, they'll be better able to be autonomous and find their own solutions.
Finally, I want to encourage you to think about your contribution as a leader to your team. Stay open to different approaches, and experiment with those that enable you to have constructive dialogues in line with your team's needs and your leadership style.
To find out more:
Management 3.0: The Agile Leadership Techniques
