When you’re involved in the decisions, you have more ownership of whatever results.

Every time I run across this principle, which is surprisingly often, I’m surprised about its nuances. Whether we’re talking about our kids, employees, volunteers, partners … The fact is that people are more inspired and motivated by things they actually have some influence over.

You can tell your employees what to do, and in fact you may even think that’s your job. The problem is that they may not be particularly motivated to do their best work in this case. It’s not that your directions were wrong – it’s that they didn’t have any input in the process. So you get compliance, not engagement.

And basic compliance may not be good enough to beat your competitors.

There’s a practice that when your kids are constantly asking you for stuff, it’s best to give them two options, both of which you find acceptable. “I’m not going to cook five meals for the family, but we can do tacos or pizza. You choose.”

What you’re doing here is to give them some involvement in the process, but within some boundaries. The odds are that they’ll be happy with whichever option they choose.

In the work environment, this exact approach isn’t usually an option. Then again, you’re dealing with more mature people so I hope you can give them more ownership of the process. Within the limits of what you can afford and the need to meet various goals.

You not only are able to tap the diverse thinking of the group, but also they’re more likely to fix issues as they arise and to ultimately be excited about a successful result.

Your role is to “set the sandbox.” In other words, to establish the boundaries and define what success looks like.

Then let them do their best. The results may surprise you!