“True freedom is not the absence of structure – letting employees go off and do whatever they want – but rather a clear structure that enables people to work within established boundaries in an autonomous and creative way.”

Erich Fromm (1900-1980)

Operating in the absence of all structure is not only difficult, but stressful for most people.

When people are critical of someone’s leadership or management style you will find the themes that recur relate to inconsistent expectations and structure – things like:

• “You never know where you stand with her.”
• “He tells me to take more responsibility but always compains that he would have done it differently.”
• “I’m supposed to get approval before I act, but when I try to I’m told to just get on with it!”

It is often our role as a leader to provide structure for those on our team, by establishing clear and consistent expectations and boundaries.

Then it’s our role to get out of the way and let them do what they are meant to do!