5 Minutes on Balancing Support and Freedom
Can you guess the MOST FREQUENT area of stress that comes up in my People Leader trainings?
Setting expectations for the employees you supervise.
If you supervise others and/or lead teams, you might have found yourself asking:
How do I know what is realistic to expect?
How do I balance autonomy and freedom with supervision and oversight?
How do I know if I’m being fair?
How do I know when I’m being too hands-off?
Afterall, as we know in the hierarchical structure most organizations still have, as the People Leader, you are also responsible for their work.
It’s tricky.
And sometimes it’s even trickier when you yourself were promoted from that same position… because you did the job so well.
Is it fair to now expect them to do the job the same way you did? It worked for you!
We’re trying to balance support and freedom.
As much as possible we want each person to determine HOW they will achieve their work.
Job descriptions only get you so far. They are just skeletons of responsibilities. The true work for people leaders is to put flesh on the skeletons of additional expectations.
These expectations might cover what the person does day-to-day, how they are expected to interact with clients, or how they interact with the rest of the team.
You can flesh out expectations such as:
1. Behavioral expectations:
You are expected to…
Follow organizational values
Be an engaged, respectful, and supportive teammate
2. Unspoken rules made explicit:
You are expected to…
Respond to emails within 24 hours
Pitch in on group meeting set-up and breakdown
Give honest feedback to others and supervisor respectfully
Make mistakes from time to time and learn from them
3. Things we do NOT expect:
You are NOT expected to…
Respond to work correspondence after hours unless it’s an emergency
Work on vacation
Come to work when you’re sick
As you might guess, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
Given that, here’s some practical advice for setting expectations.
Four Steps to Help People Leaders Balance Support and Freedom:
1. Start by taking the person out of the equation.
Consider the role itself. Ask yourself:
What is the most important part of this role?
Why is this role vital to your team/work/mission?
You’ll establish the minimum responsibilities and expectations of the role based on the answers to these questions.
2. Check in with your team, peer supervisors, and others.
Are the responsibilities and expectations you’ve established realistic?
3. Next, consider the person actually in the role.
They will bring to it what they bring to it. Everyone will do this job differently.
The goal is that the job gets done in a reasonable, agreed upon time frame.
What are their strengths?
Where are they still growing?
What is their work style?
What neurodiversity (if they have disclosed to you) or other accommodations need to be taken into account?
4. Create very clear outcomes.
You’re establishing short time frames for the work.
This leaves a lot of autonomy for the employee to determine how and when the outcomes get accomplished.
We’re looking for met expectations and high engagement.
For example: Set priorities for next 2 weeks and clearly articulate what a positive outcome look like for those priorities.
Are you ready to get started?
Take a few minutes to reflect:
Where can you take action to better balance freedom and support with one of your employees?
What has worked well for you when setting and managing expectations?
When has it gone really wrong?