You know something that never gets old? Being in the presence of somebody that seems like they were born to help you solve a problem you are in the middle of, and unmistakably savors that opportunity. Two quick examples.
Examples of Autonomy
I remember (years ago) tweaking my knee in a pick-up basketball game. It was the kind of thing where you knew something was wrong the minute you did it, but tried to convince yourself a little ice and elevation was all you needed. It wasn’t! So, a few days after coming to grips with that reality, I made my way to a highly recommended orthopedic surgeon for evaluation.
Alone with my thoughts in the exam room, I prepared for the worst. The silence was broken by a knock on the door as the doctor entered. He had my chart in his hand and an unmistakable aura of excellence. I truly don’t know how else to describe that moment.
The tension I had been feeling went away before the door closed. He approached me, said some comforting words, put his hand on my knee, and moved it side to side. He then grabbed my ankle with his other hand and moved my knee forward and back. All of this took about 90 seconds. He then told me what he thought the X-rays would confirm and sent me off to radiology.
I was in no way surprised when the X-rays did in fact confirm his intuition. He explained what I had done, prescribed something, told me what to do—and what not to do—for 2 weeks. To the surprise of no one (most of all him, I am sure), my problem went away (never to return!).
I also remember reflecting on my brief time with this doctor and almost wishing there were more things wrong with me, because there is no doubt in my mind that he would have known exactly what to do to fix them!
I had a similar experience recently with an HVAC technician. As summer approaches, we kicked on the AC unit (unsuccessfully) and called for help. When the technician arrived, she literally took one step into the house, turned to me, and stated/asked, “Smell that?!”
At which point I demonstrated my comparative HVAC expertise and said something like, “Smell…what?”
She continued, “That oak smell … mind if I take a look inside that vent?” I encouraged her to assume command. She got the cover off a large vent in our dining room, stuck her head inside, and almost immediately uttered the word, “Yep!”
She then asked me where the unit was, and we headed to the basement. On the way down the stairs, she asked me how old the house was and if “the blower” had ever been replaced. Since we had only been in the house about 6 months and only one of us knew what a blower really was, I replied by saying something like, “I think the house is about 10 years old … and no idea!”
When we got to the unit, she took the cover off a ground-level compartment and revealed a blower that even I could tell was well past its prime (after she pointed out a few particulars). She then started to unscrew the panel off a compartment directly above the blower and, as she was doing so said, “100% chance this is going to be iced over.” It was. A solid block of ice. She went on to tell me why everything had happened and what needed to be done.
I listened, like I did back in college during chemistry classes … where words were being said that I didn’t understand … but I nodded my head like it all made sense anyway. The only thing I did understand (clearly) was “$800,” which I immediately authorized, given her command. An hour later, I had air at whatever temperature I wanted!
How Long Does Autonomy Take?
After all of that, three questions:
- How long does it take to develop proficiency (in whatever it is you do) that would be comparable to this doctor or this HVAC technician?
- Thankfully, based on research conducted over time by Anders Ericsson, made famous by Malcolm Gladwell in his best-selling book “Blink,” we have an answer: ~10,000 hours!
Employees like this doctor and this technician love what they do! They stay current! They discipline themselves to learn something each and every day! They have confidence (that can sometimes almost border on arrogance) they can solve whatever problem awaits them on the other side of the door!
- When the doctor retires, or the HVAC technician takes a job with a competitor, how long does it take to replace them?
- A much more difficult question that really has two dimensions. Replacing a top performer on an organizational chart (as we all know) is but a stroke of the pen! Replacing the “blink-like” decision-making and expertise that walks out the door is something altogether different. Which really takes us to the most important question of all.
- Does your organization have a system that can transform potential into performance, and reduce the time to autonomy for critical roles that drive real value (i.e., patient-/customer-facing doctors and technicians)?
At The Center for Leadership Studies, we believe we have such a system: the Situational Leadership® Model. It is a rational, commonsense framework that has been helping practicing managers worldwide develop game-changing talent for over 50 years. And, with bias duly noted, we would suggest this model has never been more relevant than it is today!
As boomers continue to retire, and disruptive change provides ever-increasing opportunities for high performers to take their talents elsewhere, the Situational Leadership® approach is a system organizations can leverage to accelerate role-related development and decrease the time to autonomy. Because when you lose a talented and dependable contributor, there are real dollars attached to the time it takes you to fully replace them.
