Your team should love coming to work every day and they should love what they are doing. The worst thing a leader can do for their team is to restrict the ways in which they work and not allow them to do the work they think matters most. Here are five strategies for creating a freedom-based team that loves what they do.

According to a 2017 Gallup Employee Engagement Survey, 33% of U.S. professionals are engaged, 51% are disengaged and 16% are actively engaged. Freedom-based companies, by contrast, can typically boast that more than 70 percent of their professionals are “engaged.” These numbers bring into question how many of your team members are actually engaged in the work they are doing and how can you help boost this number?

First Step: Leave Your Ego at the Door

Your team members will never believe that you trust their insight or intelligence if you are always the person who has the best solution. You need to allow your team to shine with the freedom to succeed or fail on their own. Your team is a reflection of your leadership. Remember, there is not only one style of leadership that works.

Second Step: Share the Company’s Vision

A shared vision is fundamental when it comes to creating a freedom-based team. This will provide a common goal and establish a criterion for teams to make educated decisions. Qualified team members do not need to be told how to do their jobs. When you set them free to explore their talents and call the shots, they will have the potential to perform even better.  

Third Step: Create Clarity and Accountability

There’s nothing more effective than being clear on what we’re all trying to accomplish while being accountable for the short-term success of each and every project. Like stated above, the combination of this with vision unlocks tremendous progress.  

Fourth Step: Discuss Roadblocks With Your Team

It’s very important to create time during the week to do 10-15 minute huddle sessions, whether through online collaboration tools if you’re not in the same location —or even better, in person. So everyone FEELS the progress together. You feed off the energy of the whole —and I feel like that’s missing a lot of times. Everyone is trying to shine themselves, but when you feed off the energy of the WHOLE, it’s more powerful.

Fifth Step: Take on the Role of Guardian of Your Free Team

When your team takes on more responsibility and make more decisions on their own, there will be less for you to handle, which means you can abstain from using your formal authority and serve as a guardian instead. Your new role will be the tie that keeps everything strewn together and keeps the company operating successfully and efficiently.

Your team will love coming to work if they feel they are valued, trusted and have the freedom to work in the way they do best. These five steps will help you accomplish establishing a freedom-based team.