What Autonomy Actually Costs You

In Kanso’s early data, one factor stands apart from the other eighteen. Autonomy, the freedom to decide how you approach your own work, has zero responses in the “not important” or “slightly important” range. Every other Professional Fit factor has at least some dissent. This one doesn’t.

That’s either a very clear signal, or a sign that people are answering a question they haven’t fully thought through.

What the research actually says

Self-Determination Theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, names autonomy as one of three core psychological needs, alongside competence and relatedness. The part that gets dropped in casual conversation is the “alongside” part. Autonomy on its own doesn’t reliably predict better motivation or performance. It needs the other two.

Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model, from 1976, makes a related point that’s aged surprisingly well: autonomy’s effect on motivation depends heavily on the person. Some people have high “growth need strength” and want as much latitude as they can get. Others find that same latitude stressful, even demotivating.

There’s no universal dose.

Why This Factor Splits Us (And We Won’t Admit It)

Two professionals can both say “autonomy matters to me” and mean entirely different things.

The Senior Specialist	The Developing Professional
Typically 5+ years into a specific domain.	Often 1–3 years into a role, or navigating new territory.
Finds frequent check-ins intrusive and oversight insulting.	Wants autonomy because it sounds like trust, and trust feels good.
Viewpoint: Autonomy is the operational reward for proven competence.	The Blindspot: Doesn’t anticipate what is missing once the structure is gone.

For the developing professional, what is missing is often the person who used to sanity-check their decisions—the scaffolding that used to catch errors before they compounded.

The Spectrum: Missing vs. Right-Sized

When autonomy is missing, it looks like traditional micromanagement. Every decision is routed upward, every approach must be pre-approved, and competence is treated as a liability rather than an asset. People who need autonomy and don’t get it tend to disengage quietly, then leave less quietly.

When autonomy is right-sized, it looks like clear outcomes paired with flexible paths to reach them.

The professional knows what “good” looks like, possesses the skill to get there, and has access to a sounding board when the path gets unclear. They check in not because they need explicit permission, but because they recognise that two perspectives beat one.

The trade nobody puts in the job ad

Here’s the part that doesn’t make it into most conversations about autonomy: it costs support. Every increase in freedom over how you work is, structurally, a decrease in the oversight, mentorship, or scaffolding around that work. That’s not a flaw in autonomy. It’s what autonomy is.

For some people, that trade is exactly right. For others, it’s a trade they didn’t realise they were making until they were several months into a role with no one to ask.

The question worth sitting with

The honest version of “do you want autonomy?” isn’t really about autonomy. It’s about what you’re prepared to give up to get it, and whether you’ve ever actually had to find out.

Kanso’s assessment uses a credit system precisely because of this. You can’t rate everything as essential. When autonomy competes against support, mentorship, and clear direction for the same limited credits, the answer often looks different than it does in the abstract.

Find out where this sits in your hierarchy.

When you last had real autonomy, did it make your work better, or did you just stop asking for help?

References & Notes

• Edward Deci & Richard Ryan, Self-Determination Theory (developed from the 1980s onward): Autonomy only reliably supports motivation when paired with competence and relatedness; autonomy alone is insufficient.
• Hackman & Oldham, Job Characteristics Model, 1976: Autonomy is one of five core dimensions of intrinsically motivating work, but its effect is moderated by individual “growth need strength,” meaning some people want significantly less of it than others.