Control vs Autonomy

It is September already! The summer was so intense and full of adventures that I only realized it is over on the second week of September when night temperatures dropped to 5 degrees…

How was your summer?

For me there were a few new places: Kazakhstan, Gibraltar, Bristol, Yosemite. And self-driving car experience in San-Francisco was a great highlight too! The future is almost here!

And that makes me think about levels of control and autonomy.

I am not big fan of driving myself, so having self-driving car was my dream for a long time. Looks like in this case I am ready to give up control :) however there are huge risks: what if the program that controls the car has a bug or gets hacked… so it does make sense at least to be able to understand what’s going on to be able to pick up control of the vehicle back and gain own autonomy in where you are actually going/driving.

In life and work environment I actually really appreciate when I am given autonomy on what and how I am doing, not being told what to do. I am trying to give autonomy as well, where possible, and this involves certain level of trust and acceptance of potential risks. By giving autonomy, we have to give up control, and that might bring sense of insecurity. Also with control and autonomy there is always associated level of accountability: who is responsible for the outcome and consequences? That’s why it is easier to give autonomy for people to learn on things with lighter deadlines and not deadly consequences.

What is your approach to control and autonomy?