Episode 16: 7 Reasons Why Allowing Employees Independence at Work is a Culture Builder

In this episode of the Culture Secrets Podcast, host Chellie Phillips explores the connection between independence and workplace culture. She highlights the importance of allowing employees to have independence and decision-making abilities, as it demonstrates trust and values their uniqueness. Phillips presents seven reasons why fostering employee independence is beneficial for culture building:

1. Increased Employee Engagement: Granting independence gives employees a sense of ownership and autonomy, leading to higher levels of engagement and contribution to the company's culture.

2. Enhanced Creativity and Innovation: Independence encourages employees to think outside the box, explore new ideas, and take risks, fostering a culture of innovation within the organization.

3. Improved Job Satisfaction: Allowing independence shows that employees' contributions are valued, leading to higher levels of job satisfaction and fulfillment.

4. Strengthened Problem-Solving Skills: Independent work requires critical thinking and finding solutions, cultivating a culture of problem-solving and self-reliance within the organization.

5. Fostered Collaboration and Teamwork: Surprisingly, granting independence can actually promote stronger collaboration, as employees are more likely to take initiative and contribute their perspectives to team projects.

6. Increased Trust and Loyalty: Granting independence demonstrates trust in employees' abilities, leading to increased trust and loyalty toward the organization.

7. Encouraging Personal Growth and Development: Independence provides employees with opportunities to expand their skill sets, pursue professional growth, and contribute to a positive and dynamic work environment.

By allowing employees independence in their work, organizations create a positive work environment where individuals feel valued, motivated, and empowered. This positive culture attracts like-minded individuals and contributes to the overall success and growth of the organization.

Thanks for listening. Grab the book the podcast is based on at https://mybook.to/culturesecrets . Check out my website www.chelliephillips.com for more great content. Follow me on LinkedIn.

Episode Transcript

Chellie Phillips (00:06):
If workplace culture is your jam, you're in
the right place. Check out thisepisode of culture secrets, the
podcast dedicated to creatingworkplaces where both employees
and the companies thrive.
Welcome to this edition of theculture secret podcast. I'm your
host Chellie Phillips, and I'mrecording this episode around
the Fourth of July. So that gotme to thinking about

(00:28):
independence. You might bewondering, what does
independence have to do withculture in the workplace, to me,
is a key component, especiallyin my value culture formula.
It's part of the leadershipelement and found in honoring
the uniqueness of your people.
When you allow employees someindependence or decision making
ability, you're showing youvalue their ability and trust

(00:48):
them to do what's right for yourcompany. So in honor of
Independence Day, here are sevenreasons why allowing your
employees independence in theirwork is beneficial to culture
building one, increased employeeengagement, allowing employees
to work independently gives thema sense of ownership and
autonomy, leading to higherlevels of engagement. When
employees feel trusted andempowered, they're more likely

(01:11):
to be actively involved in theirwork and contribute positively
to the company's culture. So howdoes this work in the workplace?
Imagine encouraging youremployees to set their own goals
and develop a work plan based ontheir strengths, skills and
interest. What if they had theability to choose the method
that best suited their style ofwork if it aligned with the
company's objectives. This wouldgive employees a sense of

(01:33):
ownership over theircontribution. It shows you trust
their expertise, you are also inregular communication with
offering guidance or assistanceas needed. As a result,
employees feel motivated,engaged and connected to the
company mission and usually goabove and beyond their assigned
responsibility. That brings usto Reason number two. When you

(01:53):
grow engagement, creativity andinnovation increase naturally
enhance creativity andinnovation. This the second part
that we want to talk aboutindependence in work encourages
employees to think outside thebox, Explore new ideas and take
risk. When individuals have thefreedom to experiment and
express their creativity. Itfosters a culture of innovation

(02:16):
within the organization. As amanager, you can promote
creativity and innovation byfirst creating a safe and
supportive environment whereemployees feel comfortable
trying out new ideas, or atleast talking about them. You
can provide time to employees totry new skills, creativity and
innovation comp andcollaboration is encouraged. You

(02:37):
can also recognize and celebrateemployees who are innovative and
creative, creating a space toshowcase and share innovative
projects, as well as recognizingthose who bring them to the
table encourages others to dothe same. You're building a
culture where knowledge sharingand learning from mistakes is
valued. Number three, improvedjob satisfaction. Giving

(02:59):
employees independence in theirwork shows that their
contributions are valued. Thissense of autonomy and trust
leads to higher job satisfactionlevels, as individuals feel a
greater sense of fulfillment andaccomplishment in their roles.
Why does it lead to highersatisfaction, and I'm glad you
ask. Giving independence allowsemployees to feel trusted to
handle their responsibilities.
It shows you recognize theirskills and validates their

(03:21):
professional capabilities. Itputs accountability on them.
This adds to great satisfactionbecause employees can see a
direct correlation to theirefforts and results. It reduces
micromanagement and bureaucracy.
It also encourages growth anddevelopment. All of these things
signal to an employee they arerespected, trusted and valued,

(03:45):
which means they have a highersatisfaction with their job.
Number four strengthened problemsolving skills and who doesn't
like problem solving.
independent work requiresemployees to think critically
and find solutions on their own.
By encouraging independenceorganizations cultivate a

(04:05):
culture of problem solving andself reliance. employees become
more adept at resolvingchallenges which contribute to a
positive work culture. As amanager, you can help build your
employees problem solving skillsby encouraging critical thinking
and by asking them to analyzesituations and challenges on
their own. You can have thempresent their ideas which builds

(04:25):
self confidence. The more you dothis, the more comfortable
employees become in theirability to analyze problems and
find solutions. You're alsoencouraging growth and
development. Employees need tostay up with relevant industry
information, seek out newknowledge and work to attain new
skills as they progress in theirposition. Number five fostered
collaboration and teamworksurprisingly, allowing

(04:48):
independence can actually fosterstronger collaboration. When
employees have the freedom towork independently. They're more
likely to take initiative andcontribute their own perspective
to team projects. This promotesa culture of color admiration
for individuals come together toachieve shared goals. As a
manager, you can encourage thesebehaviors while still giving
independence by setting cleargoals and expectations when you

(05:10):
communicate the team's goalsclearly, it provides a framework
for employees to work togetherto meet the expectations. It
helps create the shared visionby supporting each other and
complementing each other's work.
You can assign team projects ortasks that allow employees to
leverage their special skillsencourage mentoring and
knowledge sharing and finally,lead by example. As a manager,
it's important that youdemonstrate and model the

(05:33):
behaviors you wish to see andyour employees. Number six,
increased trust and loyalty.
Granting independence toemployees demonstrates trust in
their abilities, which in turnbuilds trust and loyalty toward
the organization. When employeesfeel trusted, they're more
likely to be loyal, committedand invested in the company's
success. By simply doing thesethings we've already mentioned

(05:56):
you'll be adding to thatenvironment of trust and loyalty
your employees feel. You canbuild on that foundation through
clear and open communication.
You can provide feedback andsupport in a coaching manner.
You can recognize and celebratethe successes of your team and
you can be a supportive leader.
That means being approachable,supportive and available for
your team. It means practicingactive listening, it means being

(06:18):
generally interested when theyshare information with you. And
finally, number seven,encouraging personal growth and
development. Allowingindependence provides employees
with opportunities for personalgrowth and development, they can
take on new challenges, expandtheir skill sets and pursue
professional growth. Thisculture of personal development
contributes to a positive anddynamic work environment. This

(06:40):
one may sound contradictory, butyou can still encourage growth
and development by giving youremployees some independence. You
can begin by delegating arecreating some goals or projects
that stretch your employeesskills and capabilities. Take
them out of their comfort zone.
This will give the opportunityfor growth while showing you
trust them to tackle newchallenges that come their way.
talk with them aboutopportunities for growth are

(07:01):
there training programs,workshops or conferences that
are aligned with what they needto learn to take the next step
in their career. offer coachingand feedback. The feedback
should be specific, actionableand focused on growth. Finally,
actively support their careeradvancement. Help them identify
opportunities and encourage themto look at new roles and new
responsibilities be a resourcefor them as they grow in their

(07:23):
career. Allowing employeesindependence in their work has a
ripple effect on the overallculture of the organization. It
creates a positive workenvironment for individuals feel
valued, motivated and empowered.
This positive culture in turnattracts like minded individuals
and contributes to the overallsuccess and growth of the
organization. That's all forthis edition of the culture

(07:45):
secret podcast. I hope you foundat least one new idea you can
use over the coming weeks togrow a value culture inside your
organization. If you enjoyedwhat you heard, please like
subscribe and share this podcastwith others. If you have a topic
you'd like to discuss, drop itin the comments or connect with
me on social media. You can alsofind more information on my
website at Chellie phillips.comThat ch e ll ie pH I ll ips.com.

(08:14):
Thanks for listening. Andremember, building a value
culture is your competitiveadvantage and the backbone of
any successful organization.