How Should You Manage Someone Who Needs Autonomy?

A Useful Management Approach

Start by establishing:

• the expected outcome
• deadlines
• quality standards
• boundaries
• decision-making authority

Then allow appropriate freedom within those boundaries.

Avoid Confusing Autonomy With Absence of Accountability

Autonomy does not mean:

"Do whatever you want."

It means:

"You have appropriate freedom to determine how you accomplish the agreed objective."

Managers can use:

clear outcome + agreed checkpoints + freedom of execution.

This can work particularly well for experienced employees who have demonstrated reliability.

However, autonomy should be earned and adjusted according to competence, risk and context.