Disclaimer: These communications are intended for the employees of HB Global. We recognize that the general public will have access. The views expressed in these communications represent Bob Whalen in the context of HB Global and may not apply to broader audiences.
A couple of months ago, we introduced Jim Collins’s concept of the power of “and” and discussed how it applies to HB Global. Because we are so focused on creating clarity around Radical Autonomy, we wanted to dive into how the power of “and” applies to this concept.
On the surface, Radical Autonomy may be in conflict with some of the other values and principles that we discuss regularly, such as team and accountability. This also applies to how we balance our organizational structure through a people-first mentality while also recognizing the importance of leadership, or how we balance the decentralization of our divisions with decisions made at the holding company level.
There are many parts to Radical Autonomy that support our mission, vision, values, and culture when we take the time to use the power of “and” rather than assume that we can only focus on one priority or another.
How Team Supports Radical Autonomy
On the surface, Radical Autonomy seems to be in opposition to our core value of Team, but Team actually acts as a guide for how we go about practicing Radical Autonomy. It provides guideposts for us to work within so the concept of Radical Autonomy doesn’t turn into an “every person for themselves” attitude that may be commonly associated with the concept of autonomy.
Radical Autonomy means that we push the ability to make decisions and demonstrate expertise as close to the customer as we can. There are two important points to this. The first is that delegation of decision-making and certain tasks or projects should only be done to the extent that it is good for the Team. Because it is important that we live our core values each day, Team helps us to practice Radical Autonomy by making decisions and taking actions that are in the best interest of the Team that is HB Global.
Furthermore, decisions should be made to the extent that the responsibility for that decision is appropriate for the scope of the role. While we want to empower every employee owner, we also need to ensure that we have strong processes and governance in place for the good of the customer and the good of the company.
Part of what creates a strong but flexible structure is establishing role and decision clarity. However, just because an employee owner has decision authority doesn’t mean they have to use it independently. Clarity of who makes the decision eliminates politicking, which actually allows the decision maker to more freely seek feedback from any source that has the information or experience to help get to the best decision, even if this person is their supervisor.
For example, as the CEO, I can give advice to one of our Division Presidents, but he has the authority and autonomy to go a different direction. In fact, I have countless examples of this in practice where they went against my advice and made a great decision and also plenty of examples where they would have been better off taking my advice. However, in order for autonomy to work, decision makers also need to be held accountable for their actions and decisions.
How Accountability Supports Radical Autonomy
Radical Autonomy cannot exist without accountability. Without accountability, there is a potential that we could all be rowing the boat in different directions or that some of us don’t pull our weight for the good of the group. Accountability is what helps to ensure that we’re all executing in a way that is beneficial for the direction of the organization as a whole.
Radical Autonomy promotes employee engagement and motivation that maximizes mastery and purpose and accountability ensures that there is effective execution to support the autonomy provided by each supervisor.
A supervisor cannot simply delegate a task and then forget about it. It’s important that they hold the team member that they delegated to accountable for the work, while also providing any necessary support. The supervisor must also be held accountable for the work of their team.
Effective execution within the context of accountability and Radical Autonomy requires two-way communication. Both supervisors and team members being delegated to need to take responsibility for ensuring clarity at the beginning of the assignment and for communicating questions and concerns throughout the process for this system to work.
Not only is it possible for Radical Autonomy and accountability to co-exist, but it is necessary in order for both to be effective.
Balancing All Roles at HB Global
While we are a people-first organization that wants to empower decision-making for employee owners closest to the customer, we also recognize the importance of leadership, particularly in an organization of our size and scale. At an organizational level, we default first to decentralization and divisional autonomy, but we also recognize that some decisions that impact the whole organization are best made at the holding company level.
We believe that we can push decision-making closest to the customer and have a strong leadership team in place that helps guide the overall culture and direction of the company. Similarly, we believe in the many benefits to our employee owners of decentralization and the importance of certain decisions being made at the holding company level for the good of the organization.
All roles are important in our company. Both leadership and technical employee owners are equally important to us succeeding as a company, and both parties have their own areas of expertise that complement each other well. Similarly, each division in our company brings unique strengths and expertise to the table, but we recognize that the holding company can best support the divisions with certain functions, such as cybersecurity and risk.
Striking a balance at HB Global is important for Radical Autonomy because it allows for there to continue to be order within the organization while also motivating each employee owner to grow and demonstrate their expertise while stretching into new opportunities.
Radical Autonomy cannot operate by itself in our company but rather provides an innovative addition to our already strong culture to bolster employee engagement and motivation. The power of “and” gives us language to talk about how this works together with our existing mission, vision, values, and overall culture.
Have your own thoughts or questions about Radical Autonomy and the concept of “and” at HB Global? Send them to [email protected].