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🤸 Autonomy AND collaboration, Ray Dalio’s decision-making guidelines, & revisiting old hobbies

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Cristina & Jenni
August 31, 2023

Hey — it’s Cristina & Jenni.

This week, we're diving deep into embracing autonomy, both internally within teams and externally for better cross-department collaboration to build trust-fueled, innovative workplaces.

We hope you enjoy it, and if you have any feedback or ideas on topics we should cover, hit reply and let us know.

Enjoy!

What we’re reflecting on this week

"It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

Steve Jobs

When I first read this Steve Jobs quote a few years back, it instantly resonated.

It sounded so obvious to me, yet so many companies get this wrong.

And I know from firsthand experience working at a company where my title determined my influence, my growth felt capped, and my autonomy was limited.

I thought, if more companies gave their teams the space and trust to think and create, they'd see not just individuals thriving, but entire teams coming together more effectively.

This sets the stage for:

  • Increased creativity: Teams getting the chance to innovate.

  • Stronger collaboration: Making connections and closing the gaps between departments.

  • More growth: When each person thrives, the whole company moves forward.

  • Better customer outcomes: With aligned teams and fewer bureaucratic hurdles, customer concerns are addressed more efficiently.

So when I became a people manager, I knew I wanted to do things differently.

Applying Steve’s wisdom, my goal was to:

  • Prioritize goals over strict processes. It's about the “what” and “why”, not just the “how.”

  • Give clear directions and expectations but let my team navigate their own unique paths.

  • Be there for them with the right tools, guidance, and growth opportunities, but not micro-manage.

Being someone who naturally jumps in to solve things, this shift required conscious effort.

But the benefits?

My team took initiative, made decisions, and felt less reliant on my approval.

It was like whispering to them: "I've got your back. Dive in, experiment, and adjust accordingly."

But my work wasn’t over just yet.

While I had my own team operations running smoothly, we also needed to practice applying the same principles when working with other teams throughout the business.

I noticed how cross-functional communication issues would sometimes turn into an elaborate game of telephone, leading to misinterpretations and diluted messages.

A typical scenario went like this:

  • Someone on a team identifies an issue that touches on another department but instead of directly reaching out to the right person in that department to fix it they…

  • Escalate or raise this issue to their manager or head of department so that they can take it up with the head of the other department.

In other words, the autonomy we’d created within the team wasn’t yet being confidently practised outside the team.

If we prize autonomy so much for individual growth and innovation, shouldn't we also apply it to cross-team dynamics?

After all, autonomy should extend beyond personal space - it's about trusting teams to take the initiative, communicate directly, and sort issues without always looking upward for direction.

Here are 3 ways to get started:

  1. Be the change: As leaders and managers, if we don't directly communicate with stakeholders from other teams or departments, how can we expect our team members to do so? We need to model the behavior we want to see.

  2. Teach everyone to go direct & build mutual trust: When team members approach us to mediate issues, encourage them to liaise directly. This not only nurtures individual autonomy but also promotes direct, faster problem-solving between teams.

  3. Champion a unified company culture: I get it, navigating company politics is never easy. But stepping up, questioning norms, and diving into tough conversations will lead to a much stronger environment. Frank Slootman, the three-time CEO and author of “Amp It Up”, agrees:

“Everybody, and we mean everybody, has permission to speak to anybody inside the company, for any reason, regardless of role, rank, or function. We want the organization to run on influence, not rank and title. We want everyone to think of the company as one big team, not a series of competing smaller teams. […] It’s not acceptable to ignore a colleague just because you outrank someone or don’t feel like dealing with their concerns.”

Frank Slootman

By prioritizing autonomy in cross-team collaborations, we're not only streamlining communication flows but also building a trust-fueled, efficient workplace where every individual feels comfortable navigating and influencing autonomously - both within and across teams.

→ How can you champion both autonomy and collaboration within your team? And how can you demonstrate this ethos in your interactions?

What we’re learning this week
What we’re enjoying this week

For the second time this week, I found myself on the tennis court. I can't deny that my partner's newfound love for the game might be rubbing off on me, but hey, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to start my days early and move my body differently. So, here's your reminder to revisit an old activity or explore a new one. It could be the spark you need to rise and shine at 6 am! đź‘€

That’s it for this week — thanks for reading.

See you next Thursday! 🤸‍♀️

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