What is Freedom at Work?

In a farsighted 1964 Harvard Business Review article titled “Democracy Is Inevitable,” Warren Bennis and Philip Slater argued that democracy would be the trend in both the workplace and in the world because it is the most efficient social system in times of unrelenting change.

Bennis, a top management expert and business school professor, and Slater, a sociologist and writer, foresaw the upheaval technological advances would bring and the need for an adaptive system that promoted freedom of thought and action.

They were right.

Today, we live in an era defined by unprecedented demands for participation, collaboration, and speed. Technological advances, generational shifts, and the global exchange of cultural, social, religious, and political ideologies are the cause, but also the modern result. Valuing each individual’s potential is a current in the ocean of history that has widened and deepened with each passing century. The ideals of freedom and democracy are carrying us forward and lifting us higher.

Look around and you will see the momentum of freedom and democracy in everything from education reform to our businesses, from sports teams to religious institutions. Yet that same momentum and desire for freedom is also under massive threat worldwide by repressive, undemocratic, and authoritarian leaders and systems.

So, what does that mean for us—leaders of teams, business owners, and entrepreneurs? Customers expect us to listen to their valuable feedback as we develop the next version of our products or services. Employees are desperate to contribute their best ideas and greatest talents. Communities want us to be part of the conversation about their development and growth. If we ignore their demands, we’ll suffer the consequences.

To succeed, leaders must be engaging, responsive, efficient, moral, and adaptive. It can feel exhilarating for some, but it’s overwhelming for those who are unclear about how to lead using this strategy. Outdated management practices only make meeting these challenges even harder. Instead, organizations, leaders, and employees need to recognize the limitations of the past and evolve into a new, freedom-centered style of leadership that meets the demands of the times.

?WHAT IS FREEDOM AT WORK?

When I began exploring the concepts of leading with freedom and democracy in the business world back in 1997, only a small number of organizations were even interested in the topic. I had to literally travel the world to identify those few who were trying to prove the economic and social value of freedom and democracy in the workplace by practicing it. It took me, and WorldBlu, ten years of observation, study, and analysis to develop a clear leadership model for a world that is complex, interconnected, and desperately in search of more humanity in the way we lead and work.

The result was the Freedom at Work leadership model, and its three pillars (Freedom-Centered Mindset, Leadership, and Design), which codify how leaders and leading organizations are creating optimal environments for success.

What exactly do I mean by freedom? Freedom is when we live our fullest promise, potential, and purpose without fear. I believe freedom is our divine right. Freedom requires personal accountability, discipline, and integrity.

The Freedom at Work leadership model, has three pillars (Freedom-Centered Mindset, Leadership, and Design), which codify how leaders and top organizations create optimal environments for success using the principles of freedom and organizational democracy.

Democracy, then, is the framework for freedom, and guides us in structuring our teams and our organizations for maximum success.

Freedom at Work does not mean anarchy or a laissez-faire, free-for-all approach to building an organization. It is a well-researched, structured, and proven leadership strategy for capturing every ounce of potential for greatness and leveraging it into an environment that creates better leaders, smarter decisions, increased revenues, and a workplace culture people love.

Simon, formerly the CEO of a California-based web provider and a WorldBlu certified Freedom-Centered Organization, explained their commitment to Freedom at Work like this: “We understand that the future of business is less about pomp and more about participation, less about titles and more about meaning. Working in a democratic environment makes employees feel more connected to the work that they do because they feel like they can take ownership of their individual tasks. They know if they have a better way to do something, they can do it—instead of mindlessly doing something the way someone thinks it should be done. The result is empowered employees who are prepared to tackle all sorts of challenges.”

Working in a democratic environment makes employees feel more connected to the work that they do because they feel like they can take ownership of their individual tasks.

The promise of Freedom at Work shows in the company’s accomplishments: with 230 employees, the company serves millions of clients and brings in over $50 million in annual revenue. ??

THE 5 PROMISES OF FREEDOM AT WORK

Freedom at Work delivers on five bold promises that make it a highly effective leadership strategy for you, your team, or your organization:

1. Freedom at Work addresses the root cause of your problems.

Unlike other leadership methods that just address the symptoms of most team and organizational problems (such as distrust, poor communication, micromanagement, toxic behavior, lack of innovation, and poor growth), Freedom at Work addresses the root fears causing these roadblocks and how to effectively overcome them once and for all.

2. Freedom at Work cultivates a high-performance mindset throughout your team or organization.

High performance starts with your mindset, yet most leadership models out there completely overlook it, trying to create leaders by teaching skills and tactics that, while necessary, aren’t the right starting point. Freedom at Work starts from the inside out.

3. Freedom at Work develops world-class leaders.

Freedom at Work shows every leader how to develop high self-worth and self-knowledge, and how to self-govern effectively. The result is leaders who are confident in their leadership abilities with the understanding, and the moral courage, to resist the pull of fear-based leadership tactics.

4. Freedom at Work outlines a proven framework for democratic organizational design.

Most CEOs and top leaders do not intentionally design their organizations. Instead, they default into the traditional, hierarchical pyramid structure that doesn’t work in a postindustrial age.

What does work is a democratically designed organization based on the proven 10 Principles of Organizational Democracy. A principle-based versus practice-based approach is more adaptable, scalable, and flexible to your organizational needs. Additionally, democracy gives power to your people, unleashing top ideas faster, developing team spirit, and massively impacting your bottom line.

5. Freedom at Work builds a more democratic world.

Democracy and freedom are continuously under threat in our world from numerous sources, ranging from subtle to overt forms of authoritarian leadership and economic, technological, biological, and mental slavery. We cannot rely on government officials to be the guardians of democracy in our world. Instead, as leaders, we can design our organizations, from businesses to nonprofits, schools to churches, to function democratically, by teaching people how to be engaged democratic citizens in the workplace each day. By doing so, we weave democracy into the social fabric of our lives, which ultimately has an unstoppable ripple effect, building more robust and democratic communities and societies, and bringing more stability and economic prosperity to our world.

We cannot rely on government officials to be the guardians of democracy in our world. Instead, as leaders, we can design our organizations to function democratically, by teaching people how to be engaged democratic citizens in the workplace each day. By doing so, we weave democracy into the fabric of our lives, building more robust and democratic communities and societies, and bringing more stability and economic prosperity to our world.

Freedom at Work is the leadership strategy to transform and ultimately save our organizations and our world. Save us from what, you may ask? From the fear, that clouds our mindset, distorts leadership skills, builds toxic workplace cultures, and destroys vibrant societies.

As Albert Einstein once said, “Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual?who can labor in freedom.” As leaders, we must consciously and intentionally choose to lead with freedom.

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