As you search for the top talent required to build your dream team, you must do more than staff your key players, but also provide them with the autonomy to do what they do best. Sometimes, as leaders, we get so stuck on the path we would pave to achieve a goal, we lose sight of the fact there are areas of opportunity we may have yet to consider. This often includes innovative, faster, and more productive ways of achieving goals. When it comes to employee retention and overall job satisfaction, job autonomy plays a larger role than you might imagine.
Lack Of Trust
Change is the one constant in business. Everything from your systems and operations, to technology, marketing, and service-offerings continue to evolve. This is a balancing act, because you must deliver a sense of consistency for your internal and external customers, while recognizing when it’s time to evolve. Change is as challenging for leaders as it is for every member of your team, sometimes so much so, that we fail to see the value in team input. While it may not be your intention, an unwillingness to consider ideas other than your own exhibits a lack of trust and disregards how invested your team is in the desired outcome.
Hinders Innovation
As a leader, your job is to know your strengths and surround yourself with those who possess the skills that simply aren’t your strong suit. Your HR team works hard to identify the industry innovators required to move your business forward. After identifying a team member with the skillset you lack or need more of, you must not only trust their skill, but provide them with the opportunity to put their plan to action. Remember, your industry innovators invest time brainstorming and strategizing. For true total quality management, you must allow room for job autonomy and provide your team the chance to wow you.
Decreases Job Satisfaction
Studies show the connection between job autonomy and job satisfaction continue to be a major motivating factor in employee retention. The construction industry is now more competitive than ever, and employee retention is lower than most would like. Everyone from your skilled labors to office staff, executives, and entry level team members can be selective about who they work for and why they stay. A team member who feels micromanaged, a lack of trust, or minimal job autonomy can easily find work elsewhere. While full self-management can’t be the goal, cultivating a sense of ownership, job satisfaction, and being a valued member of a team must be.
Unnecessary Bottlenecks
Overthinking and micromanaging creates unnecessary bottlenecks that make projects far more complex and time-consuming than they need be. Your job as a leader is to create clear, specific, and measurable goals and entrust your team to make it happen. While it is more than reasonable to request updates, timelines, and a clear list of strategies, overanalyzing every detail often undermines your team’s hard work.
If you are looking to surround yourself with the most valuable players in the construction industry and empower them to do what they do best, reach out to The Birmingham Group today to discuss a personalized recruitment strategy.
