10. Let People Drive

• High functioning teams are noted for high levels of autonomy. The chapter starts with the story of how people who did their own dialysis were much happier. People who have autonomy are more likely to be motivated, unlike those who are told what to do step by step. This also seems to work for coaches who are not known for allowing much autonomy.
• There can be too much autonomy. People need guardrails and support when things go wrong. In addition to high autonomy, you need to also strive for high alignment. This is were all members of the team have a sound understanding of the task at hand.

11. Accelerate Learning

• If you can learn faster, you can adapt quicker, which is the ultimate force multiplier. This requires real-time feedback from the right people. The right feedback can help you learn faster and spot failure and success faster. You must make it easy to give feedback. By learning faster you will reduce waste and probably increase motivation and collaboration.

Conclusion

• Here is the story of a hospital in Brazil dedicated to instilling Joy at Work using the principles spelled out in previous chapters. All of the main ideas are captured here. They embraced the notions that when employees are consulted they will contribute, when they are empowered they will act, and when they are trusted they will lead.

Den Heath

• Dan and his brother Chip have coauthored six #1 best selling books, according to the New York Times. They include Made to Stick, Switch, and The Power of Moments (all summarized here). He has an award-winning podcast What It’s Like to Be… He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the Harvard Business School. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Share this: