I want to break free! • 2 min read
Researchers in Fordham and Rochester Universities carried out a study on the impact of self-determination theory (SDT) within small businesses. Half of the businesses operated a top-down directive model while the other half provided their staff with autonomy around what tasks they undertook and how they performed them.
Their findings showed that businesses who granted autonomy to their staff grew four times faster than those who operated a top-down directive model.
Introduction
We previously learned that AUTONOMY is one of our key psychological needs when it comes to our motivation. Dips in motivation can come about if we lose autonomy over what we do, how we do it and when we do it.
In this post we’ll review the 3 key aspects of autonomy - what, how, and when. We'll aim to identify opportunities to embed more freedom into our work.
What, how and when
Autonomy plays a crucial role for boosting our intrinsic motivation. This is when we are motivated to do something because we find a task rewarding, enjoyable and satisfying.
When we have more control over the tasks we do, how we do them and when we do them, our motivation levels naturally increase.
Let’s look at some of the characteristics of each component.
What
The ability to work with new products or services
The ability to prioritise your most important tasks
The ability to work on new innovations
How
The ability to perform a task differently if there is an easier way to do it
The ability to perform a task differently if there is a better way to do it
The ability to perform a task differently if there is a faster way to do it
When
The ability to order and schedule when you deliver tasks
The ability to control your own calendar
The ability to focus on the quality of the work, rather than meeting continuous deadlines
What, how, and when in practice
What
Creativity is one of the key outputs from having autonomy over what we do. One famous example of this is the creation of Gmail as a result of Google engineers having the autonomy to work on tasks that were outside of the normal day-to-day.
How
During the second half of the 20th century, Japan took on the might of the US car industry by implementing lean principles into their manufacturing process. They went about eliminating wastes such as overproduction and wait times to completely revolutionise the car manufacturing process.
When
American multinational conglomerate 3M encouraged scientists and engineers to spend 15% of their time on “experimental doodling” which led to the invention of the yellow post-it note.
Key takeaways
Autonomy plays a big role in how motivated we feel in our roles.
When we have more control over the tasks we do, how we do them, and when we do them, our motivation levels naturally increase.
Creativity is one of the key benefits from working in an autonomous environment.
Think big, act small
We just want you to focus on the ‘how’ component of autonomy for today.
Pick one key responsibility within your role.
Identify if there is an easier, better, or faster way to do it.
Content sources
Drive, Daniel Pink
Forbes, Why Autonomy Matters and How You Can Use It To Your Advantage
Harvard Business Review, Lean Knowledge Work, Bradley Staats and David Upton
Harvard Business Review, The Innovation Mindset in Action: 3M Corporation, Vijay Govindarajan and Srikanth Srinivas
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Intrinsic Need Satisfaction: A Motivational Basis of Performance and Well-Being in Two Work Settings, Paul Baard, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan
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