"Why does giving your team AI tools make them less autonomous, not more? Here's the trap destroying AI initiatives: You give your team powerful AI tools to enhance their decision-making. Within weeks, you're drowning in messages asking for approval on decisions they used to make themselves. AI that was supposed to empower them has made everyone more dependent on you.This isn't a technology problem. It's a fundamental misunderstanding of how human autonomy works when artificial intelligence enters the picture."
"Like switching from a bicycle to a motorcycle, suddenly you realize you weren't good at transportation; you were good at pedaling. The motorcycle's power reveals that you're unprepared to navigate at speed or handle momentum.Research on self-determination theory shows that autonomy requires three psychological conditions: competence (I can do this), autonomy (I'm allowed to do this), and relatedness (this matters to others)."
AI tools can paradoxically reduce autonomy by exposing competence gaps and increasing teams' dependence on leaders. When teams adopt powerful AI, previously hidden skill limits become visible, prompting requests for approvals and paralysis. Autonomy depends on competence, permission to act, and relatedness; AI disrupts competence most acutely. Restoring autonomy requires restructuring decision flows, pushing intelligence to the edges, and giving teams tools, data, clear boundaries, and authority to use judgment. Leaders must shift from sole decision-makers to coordinators, enabling continuous coordination through shared information streams, unified metrics, and peer learning loops.
Read at Psychology Today
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