Teams empowered to - Manage tasks and projects - Set goals - Allocate resources such as time and money - Chose and execute strategies to accomplish goals Without the need for constant approval or direction from upper management. Autonomy can be granted in many areas such as - Finding objectives - Refining objectives - Scheduling of work - Hiring of new team members It is important that the autonomes team align itself with the overall organizational goals and strategies. The idea of autonomy is not to do whatever you want but to give the mandate and power to pursue the overall goals of the organisation within a set of restrains. ## Pros 1. **Faster Decision-Making:** Autonomous teams can make decisions more quickly since they don't need to wait for approval from higher-ups. 2. **Employee Empowerment:** Autonomy fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment among employees, as they have the opportunity to contribute their ideas, take on challenges, and see the direct impact of their work. 3. **Enhanced Morale and Engagement:** Employees tend to be more engaged and motivated when they have a say in their work and can see the outcomes of their efforts. 4. **Innovation:** Autonomous teams have the freedom to experiment and innovate, leading to the development of new ideas, products, and services that might not have emerged under a more centralized decision-making structure. 5. **Less leadership overhead:** much less decisions being made by a central than the [[Hub & Spoke model]] 6. **Specialized Expertise:** Autonomous teams can utilize their specific skills and expertise to tackle challenges that might not be well understood by higher management. ## Cons 1. **Risk of Fragmentation:** Too much autonomy can lead to fragmentation and silos within an organization, where different teams operate in isolation and might not share information or collaborate effectively. 2. **Lack of Coordination:** When teams are highly autonomous, there's a potential for lack of coordination across different functions or departments, which can hinder collaboration and communication. 3. **Complexity of Decision Making:** Autonomous decision-making can lead to complex decision paths, especially when multiple teams need to coordinate decisions that affect each other. ## Risks - The team members may not be equipped to manage themselves, missing the competence part of the [[Self-determination theory]] - The team members may not be interested in the strategic part of the mandate and will not take ownership which makes the team drift without direction ## Opposite Constant micromanagement from higher levels of management ## Type of [[Autonomy]]