Freedom to Get the Results You Want

A follower of Jesus, the Apostle Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Most people in the United States think of it as “The land of the free.” And in most cultures and deep within most peoples’ hearts is a longing for freedom. In fact, the search for more and more real experiences of true freedom drive many efforts, both good and bad, throughout our world. But for your church, or agency or business what does that mean? And are there practical implications that could influence how you lead the people in your organization and how they do and experience their work? “

Results only work environments” (ROWE) have discovered that freedom is productive! Unlike traditional benchmarks for work which are based heavily on time (how long you work and when it happens), Results Only Work Environments put their emphasis on results. People are clear about WHAT they are to get done and WHEN it will be done by. They are then free to determine when and how they work to do it. Staff decide their own work hours (night owls can work late and early birds can work early) and the key is what they get done and meeting the deadlines to get it done. Communication is a key and freedom is the result.

Studies have shown that in some settings this way of working can INCREASE productivity, sometimes as much as 40%. People who are free to use their gifts, decide how they work best, and accountable to work goals are actually more likely to meet them. Being paid to be present makes you show up. Being paid to work the way you work to get the job done gets the job done.

As the A.R.E. team works to prepare a whole series of resources for our Fall tour of North America we are working this way. We have assigned members of the team various roles and tasks to get done. Some of these are basically solo projects. Some are team efforts. But in every case we have tried to clarify WHAT needs to be done and WHEN things need to be done by. We are checking in and benchmarking for accountability. And we are hoping to produce more work than one staff person who works for a publisher believes is possible. Can we do it? Time will tell. But we are hoping that freedom to work when and how we each work best frees us up to do our best work.

Here are a few tips to work in a freer and more results focused way:

1. Set clear goals and get ownership by whoever will be responsible.
2. Agree on parameters for completion and success.
3. Agree on when the work will be done.
4. Let people decide how and when to do the work, as long as the final goal is done in time, stay out of when and how it is getting done!
5. Check in with people at some midpoint(s) that matches their own work style to help update on progress and help them stay on track.
6. Remember to thank, praise and celebrate when amazing things are done by people who loved doing them while being free to be themselves!

Freedom to DO let’s people do more. And they (and you) may just end up smiling more while they do it!