Part 5 of 6 of our Organizational Resilience Series
Our framework is based on academic research as well as our in-house interviews with leaders across a wide range of industries (e.g., tech, medical, non-profit) by LifeLabs Learning’s Impact Lead Joie Lim, M.S., who is developing specialized expertise in Organizational Resilience.
Summary: Autonomy is a key driver of organizational resilience. When employees are trusted to make decisions, they respond faster, take initiative, and strengthen the organization’s ability to adapt. In this fifth installment of our Organizational Resilience series, we explore the systems and behaviors that support high-autonomy environments — from decentralized governance to clearly defined decision-making roles. Includes tips from LifeLabs Learning workshops on strategic thinking and collaborative decision-making.
Why employee autonomy is crucial for organizational resilience
At LifeLabs Learning, we learn from thousands of companies across industries about what their leaders struggle with most often so that we can design skill-based solutions to up-level their leadership talent. At some point, most companies bring up “decision-making skills” as a challenge area. It makes sense – being able to make strategic, informed decisions with the right level of risk and security is a skill all leaders should have. However, the biggest obstacle to making fast, smart decisions in the workplace is not always the lack of skill, but rather the lack of autonomy.
A recent Gallup study found that organizations that foster employee autonomy saw a 27% increase in employee resilience scores, reinforcing the connection between autonomy and adaptability.
The fifth pillar of Organizational Resilience is High Autonomy: Resilient organizations have distributed and expanded decision-making systems that reinforce confidence in their employees’ ability to effectively execute solutions.
In resilient organizations, when an employee faces a low to medium severity level challenge, their first instinct is to figure out how to solve it themselves. Organizations with decentralized decision-making systems scale innovative thinking.
On the flip side, organizations that bottleneck problem-solving reinforce feelings of inadequacy or distrust in their employees’ ability to perform, stifling performance and innovation. In other words, when recurrent challenges require an escalation to a manager to make a decision, it reduces efficiency and the ability for employees to behave in positively adaptive ways.
How to optimize your decision-making structure for autonomy
There are two components of a highly autonomous governance system:
- Non-linear and decentralized
- Identifiable
Let’s dive into each to see how resilient the governance system is at your organization.
1. What does non-linear and decentralized decision-making look like?
How quickly your organization can identify and respond to a problem is a big indicator of how resilient it is. Decision-making should be as expanded as possible so problems can be solved quickly and efficiently.
Decisions are how we respond to a person, situation, or the like. Organizations should make two types of decisions, non-linear and decentralized: individual responsiveness and initiative responsiveness.
When should employees make decisions on their own? (Individual responsiveness)
For individual response-driven decisions, such as an employee having to make a quick decision on the spot to ensure a client gets what they need or remove an error from a system, they should be able to adapt and act quickly without moving through a chain of command. If the solution is relatively clear, they have the resources to provide a solution, and the consequences are minimal (meaning no significant loss in revenue, time, or harm to others), employees should be able to make that decision independently.
Most companies overestimate the consequences of a decision and underestimate the competence of the employee making it. If we train our employees on what constitutes a good decision, they’re prepared to make a call on things that have an immediate impact and an immediate solution.
See more in our Strategic Thinking workshop on specific tools to make better decisions.
How to involve others in decision-making without delaying progress (Initiative responsiveness)
For initiative-driven decisions, those impacted by the decision should be looped in before it is made to offer feedback and get buy-in. This is not necessarily for approval, but for contributions, feedback, insights, and input, so decisions are made as close to right as possible the first time and meet the least amount of resistance.
2. How to make decision-makers easily identifiable
The most common obstacle to effective decision-making is not knowing who the decision-maker is. We’ve studied multiple teams across the globe, and you would be shocked (or maybe not) at how often people are in a meeting to decide on something, and the decision maker isn’t even in the room!
It’s important to have a system that identifies who the decision-maker is, as well as the other roles involved in decision-making. We teach the DACI (Driver, Approver, Contributors/Consultants, Informed/Impacted) model, a good example of a transparent governance system. It makes it clear who owns what and how each person contributes to the decision-making process. This removes the guesswork from employees, making it possible for decisions to be acted upon quickly and easily. At LifeLabs Learning, we make DACIs explicit for all initiatives, projects, and tasks.
To learn more about DACI and decision-making, check out our Skillful Conflict & Collaboration workshop.
Set your team up for decision-making success
If you don’t have decision-making authority over your governance system, there are ways you can still enable resilience on your team.
Pro-tips for managers
- Expand the decision-making boundaries on your team by ensuring they have adequate knowledge, resources, and skills.
- Ritually ask yourself when making a decision, “Could somebody else on my team make this decision? Is it necessary for me to approve this form or action?”
- Create a DACI for all projects and tasks so everyone is aligned.
Pro-tips for individuals
- Ask your manager in what situations you have decision-making authority to solve the problems you most commonly face.
- Ask if you can do anything to increase the efficiency of making decisions in times of urgency for decisions that need their approval.
So, that’s it – that’s how you create high autonomy within your organization!
Read Part 6 on Bricolage.
Explore the full blog series here: Organizational Resilience Series →
>> Want to speak to a LifeLabs Learning consultant about bringing resiliency skills to your organization? Schedule a free 30-minute L&D consultation call here!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the relationship between autonomy and resilience?
Autonomy enables faster, more adaptive problem-solving — a key trait of resilient organizations. When employees are trusted to make decisions, they’re more engaged and better prepared to handle change.
Is employee autonomy risky for organizations?
Not when done well. With clear boundaries, decision-making tools (like DACI), and strong training, autonomy reduces bottlenecks and builds trust without sacrificing oversight.
How do I know if our decision-making is too centralized?
If decisions frequently require managerial approval for low- to mid-impact issues, or if people aren’t sure who the decision-maker is, it’s likely your system needs decentralizing.
What tools can support high-autonomy environments?
The DACI model is a strong starting point. So are role clarity frameworks, decision-making rubrics, and leadership development programs like LifeLabs Learning’s Strategic Thinking workshop.
Can autonomy be taught?
Yes. Organizations can teach decision-making criteria, role clarity, and communication norms to build employee confidence and skill. Many of these tools are covered in LifeLabs Learning’s workshops.
