You're leading a team with autonomy. How do you maintain project coherence and direction?

Let's be real: we all know that setting the vision in an autonomous team is critical to achieving KPIs. Articulating the vision that inspires and unites your team is crucial to organizational success. To maintain project progress and empower your team that works autonomously, dedicate time during the project launch to clarify each team’s role in the outlined vision and address any questions upfront. As leaders, we know that it's not a one-and-done when it comes to vision setting. It's equally as valuable to the organization to remind everyone of the vision which helps with morale during challenging times.

Make sure that everyone is aware of the big picture and the intended results so that they can all understand why the task is important.

Ensure that everyone on the team has access to context, particularly about the internal organisational dynamics and the broader business strategy.

Set goals clearly (ideally together). Leading an autonomous team is about having communication processes for checking in - what's on track and what isn't. Then help your team come up with solutions for what isn't go well. As a leader you can support them move any obstacles that they can't move on their own.

Encourage an atmosphere in which direct communication is welcomed. Establish channels so that team members can talk about ideas, exchange updates, and resolve issues. Having open and honest communication on a regular basis facilitates matching individual efforts to project objectives.

Rather than being clear about everyone's inputs - I prefer to focus on everyone's outputs. We spend lots of time documenting job descriptions that are then completely different from what someone is actually doing day to day. Focusing on the input tells people 'how' to do something, to lead an autonomous team tell them 'what' they need to achieve and then let them work out the how.

Role Clarity: Clearly define each team member's duties and responsibilities. Make sure that each person is aware of their individual responsibilities, their role within the project, and how it interacts with other roles. This clarity keeps the workflow free of gaps and overlaps.

Maintaining project coherence and direction while leading a team with autonomy hinges on cultivating a trust culture. Drawing from the wisdom of the 3 Principles articulated by Sydney Banks, the foundation is understanding that each team member has innate resilience and clarity. By fostering open communication, encouraging individual insights, and appreciating diverse perspectives, you create an environment where trust flourishes. Regular check-ins and shared vision sessions align the team’s efforts, ensuring everyone stays connected to the project's core objectives while feeling empowered to contribute their unique brilliance.

The most important thing in leading an autonomous team and keeping people and the project moving in the same direction is ensuring that people can trust you to tell you when something is not going well, rather than hide it from you. You can do this by celebrating honesty and vulnerability. You can also do this by role modelling that you make mistakes yourself.

Establish a culture of trust so that team members are comfortable accepting responsibility for their work. Rely on their knowledge and discernment, and refrain from micromanaging. Members of a team are motivated to perform at their highest level when there is trust between them.

Regular project team check ins with an autonomous working team make sure that everyone is following the same vision, manage their individual timelines with awareness of any dependencies or blockers by other teammates, and provides an opportunity to balance the workload.

Check-ins are critical to making sure people are moving in the same directions. Have structured and rhythmic check-ins so people can be prepared and use those check-ins effectively to keep things moving.

In order to drive forward with success while leading a team with autonomy, it's important stay aligned with project coherence and direction. There is a mix of technologies available to help drive your team's work forward, but I have found a good way to control the overall mentality, is going back to one central question that is important to consider- is it important we discuss this live or can we talk through notes, chat, work management SaaS products, etc. Asynchronous communication while it can be challenging in it's own way, makes work more about the work when working individually, and more about collaboration when you come together as a team. Keeping team time together with intention is more productive and meaningful.