CEO at Alder Koten and Chairman at Anker Bioss. Executive and board recruiter, and organizational leadership consultant.
In today’s competitive business landscape, leaders strive to create environments that promote employees’ autonomy, engagement and personal growth. Striking the right balance between autonomy and structure is essential for success.
The challenge lies in providing an optimal level of difficulty for employees—one that stretches their abilities without overwhelming them. This sweet spot, akin to solving a Sudoku puzzle that is challenging but not frustrating, cultivates skill development, confidence and growth.
As leaders, understanding and implementing this balance is the key to fostering workplace autonomy. The “Tripod of Work,” a model proposed by one of my mentors, Gillian Stamp, in 2009, offers a solution through three fundamental elements: tasking, trusting and tending. This balanced structure supports employee well-being and enhances their ability to perform effectively. At my company, we use the tripod in consulting engagements to help clients develop talent and improve the organization.
Tasking: Setting The Stage For Growth
Tasking encompasses the work and activities employees engage in as part of their job. By clarifying expectations, objectives and timelines, we define the work we entrust to others. I’ve found tasking is crucial for job satisfaction and performance, as employees who find their work meaningful and challenging are more likely to be engaged and motivated.
Tending: Cultivating Success Through Support
Conversely, tending refers to the guidance and support we provide to help others execute their tasks. This includes training and development, access to resources and tools, and opportunities for collaboration and feedback. Tending is vital for employee well-being and job satisfaction, as employees who feel supported are more likely to produce high-quality work.
Trusting: Building Strong Relationships And Shared Purpose
The third element, trusting, is about the relationships between employees, their colleagues and the organization as a whole. Trusting relationships are characterized by mutual respect, transparency and a shared sense of purpose. Employees who feel trusted and valued by their colleagues and the organization are more likely to experience fulfillment in their work.
Achieving The Perfect Balance
Recently, a CEO I worked with talked about an underperforming vice president. As we delved deeper, comparing the performance of the other team members, we realized that he was tasking, trusting and tending to every team member using the same approach.
The most challenging part of leadership is not driving others based on the expected result but instead helping others maximize their sustainable output while maximizing their development based on the critical experiences they are gaining.
Everything starts with tasking. Tasking an executive, a manager or a front-line employee is different based on the time span required to complete the task and the uncertainty around it. The board of directors tasks the CEO with the company’s long-term viability—an autonomy time span that sometimes involves decades. The type of tasks that a manager performs are more aligned with achieving a specific objective using limited resources. The autonomy time span for the tasks of a manager typically involves months.
A front-line employee is generally tasked to follow detailed instructions and processes to achieve the desired result. Their autonomy time span is typically hours. Those instructions and processes are the boundaries that define the space of autonomy for the front-line employee, and the tending happens when a supervisor reviews the work. The typical limits to the space of autonomy of a manager involve policies and budgets.
Tending for a manager focuses more on key performance metrics than a detailed review of their work output. The board tends to the task of the CEO through quarterly reviews, and the autonomy of the CEO involves making decisions, with corporate governance serving as the boundary of that autonomy.
My CEO client spent some time analyzing the frequency and the type of guidance that every one of her vice presidents required and gaining a deeper understanding of their autonomy time span. The adjustments helped her relationships with them and consequently improved the underperforming vice president.
Implementing The Tripod Of Work
When implementing the Tripod of Work in your organization, focus on providing unique insights and expertise, avoiding generic advice and ensuring a clear takeaway for your employees. This means creating a challenging yet manageable environment, ensuring employees have the necessary resources and support, and fostering trusting relationships.
Here are some actionable takeaways for leaders to implement the Tripod of Work in their organizations:
1. Clearly define tasks and objectives for your employees, ensuring that you understand their threshold for ambiguity and uncertainty and that they understand expectations and timelines.
2. Consider their ideal time spans of autonomy. Tighter time spans require more attention to detail. Broader time spans require more strategic vision and planning skills.
3. Foster a trusting environment by demonstrating respect, transparency and shared purpose.
4. Regularly assess the balance between tasking, trusting and tending, and adjust as needed to maintain an environment that supports autonomy and growth.
By following these guidelines and focusing on the Tripod of Work, leaders can create a workplace that encourages meaningful autonomy, fostering employee satisfaction, engagement and personal growth. Implementing this model requires dedication and attention to detail, but the results are worth the effort.
The insights and guidelines provided in this article offer a road map for leaders to create a meaningful work environment that inspires employees to achieve their full potential, leading to increased productivity, innovation and long-term success.
As you embark on this journey to unleash the power of autonomy through tasking, trusting and tending, remember that the ultimate goal is to create an environment where employees can thrive and achieve their full potential. With a clear vision, determination and a commitment to nurturing the Tripod of Work, your organization can reap the benefits of a more engaged, motivated and fulfilled workforce.
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