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Over the last three years building Plum, we’ve had multiple conversations about generational talent and where to find them. More importantly, we think about setting these people up for success once they’ve joined us. As Abhishek poignantly puts it, we want our best talent to stay with us for the next decade, and grow into leadership roles through the process. One common statement I’ve heard being thrown around a lot is this:
“Hire good people and get out of their way.”
I don’t agree completely with this.
Simply ‘getting out of the way’ isn't enough. Without the right checks in place, autonomy without guidance can be directionless at best or can lead to failure at worst. A few months ago, Sanam (Founding Partner at Metamorph) and I had the opportunity to discuss this on one of our LinkedIn Live sessions.
You can watch the entire conversation here.
Top talent displays agency.
Before I write about autonomy, we need to talk about what makes great talent, great. Across teams, I’ve noticed a common trait across great talent. There are many words for it – most people call it hustle, others call it a ‘bias for action’, few call it ‘enthusiasm’.
I call it agency – an intrinsic drive to take initiative and solve problems without being asked.
As Sanam puts it: "Being able to show someone that not only can you deliver, but you can go beyond the given responsibilities because there's an intrinsic need to succeed, not for the money, but for the inner self to feel content."
All your best laid plans, ideas, or frameworks don’t work if you aren't identifying folks who are intrinsically motivated to do great work. And it is the responsibility of the company, especially the manager, to keep that intrinsic motivation alive.
Rule of thumb – do not offer autonomy if you believe agency is a lacking trait. And that’s okay, people have differing relationships with work. Some might need more direction, and that’s perfectly fine, as long as you’ve set expectations correctly.
Keeping autonomy in check
You might have a high-agency individual in your team (yay!), and you might have given them carte-blanche authority on solving a problem (yaay, again!). As my good friend Uncle Ben would put it, with great power comes great responsibility.
"You cannot possibly think you're going to get autonomy without being accountable for something. If you do, you're in some other la-la-land, which is not going to work."
Accountability creates the necessary tension driving progress, while still preserving freedom in approach. Even the most high-agency of teams and individuals can feel stranded if you’re not holding the team to the highest of standards.
Excellent work = Agency + Autonomy + Accountability
We’re a small team and have to ship fast to stay relevant. However, the risk shipping fast poses to quality is something we don’t take lightly. Therefore, we have two modes of operation – default approve and default veto. If you’ve been doing well for a while, you can ship without approvals. But if you’re new, need additional context, or are in a slump, the manager must first approve.
All of this works only in a high-trust environment.
Reflecting on building Metamorph from scratch at just 24, Sanam highlighted how fearlessness enabled her success:
"I was very fearless. Even if I fail, I'm going to change my route. This fearlessness really added to the autonomy bit."
This fearlessness must exist on both sides. Leaders must be fearless in giving autonomy, accepting things might not go as planned. Team members must fearlessly take on challenges beyond their comfort zones.
To ship great work, teams need to eliminate the fear of failure. There are no penalties for outcomes, but only for effort (or lack of).
As leaders, our job isn't simply to hire great people and disappear—it's to identify those with high agency, provide meaningful autonomy, and hold them accountable while supporting their growth.
When we get this balance right, truly remarkable things happen.
About Musings: Musings is a series where leaders at Plum write notes on culture, team building, and talent-density, inspired by their own experience and related conversations with people leaders.
