“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” – Abraham Lincoln
Everybody desires to have freedom. Though it is often said that freedom needs to be earned, I believe that one must get an opportunity to prove it. My professional journey started from being a math teacher to now being the Director at IdeateLabs. The most important thing that I have never compromised throughout my career is my freedom. I have always strived to perform par excellence and make a significant impact on the people and the organization I work with.
The major reason behind the success of IdeateLabs is that we provide each and every Ideator the space to explore possibilities and come up with path-breaking solutions. The advertising and marketing industry requires people to come up with new concepts and ideas to reach a brand at its full potentials. Hence, the key to gaining an efficient workforce is giving them a chance to breathe and work on creating big ideas. Coming back to the major question, why is it that people prefer autonomy is:
It provides enjoyable learning opportunities: When you’re free to come up with ideas, it forces you to expand your potential and challenges your capabilities to go beyond the scope of work. This is possible through sheer interest and dedication to delivering your best work in the stipulated time frame. One gets to learn newer lessons that prove to be helpful throughout their professional journey.
Immense knowledge: There are two types of knowledge, one that is attained by studying and the other that is attained by experimentation. Both are equally important. In a way, autonomous jobs boost motivation as one can thoroughly enjoy the process and attain immense job satisfaction. It in a way is the best solution to enforce employees to step out of their comfort zone.
Sense of ownership: Another great benefit of giving autonomy is that it creates a sense of ownership i.e. you and only you will be responsible for your success or failures. Owning one’s action is a life lesson that every person must have in order to grow. It creates a sense of belongingness towards the organisation as it respects and trusts you enough to let you do things in your own way.
Loyal team: Employees will often feel loyal and committed to an organisation that showcases faith and trusts them. It ties them to invisible fences creating boundaries that they become extremely conscious about. They then strive to push beyond their set limitations and achieve things that they fear losing. This is the bond of commitment and mutual trust which is hard-earned.
Autonomy allows employees to enjoy their work rather than feeling burdened by it. According to a study, people are 2.5x more likely to pick a job that allows them greater freedom. Do share your comments on why do you feel autonomy is most important in today’s working environment.
-By Vrutika Dawda, Director, IdeateLabs