Teams must be freed to build themselves
This year, business lost a great thinker. Professor Edward Deci was a pioneering psychologist who, with university colleague Richard Ryan, gave the world self-determination theory.
The theory demonstrates how the satisfaction of three core human needs predicts organizational success: people must feel relatedness – a connection with others, a sense of belonging and being cared for. They desire competence – the need to be effective and master their tasks and projects. Yet they must also command autonomy – having agency and choice. “The proper question is not, ‘How can people motivate others?’,” Deci once said. “But rather, ‘How can people create the conditions within which others will motivate themselves?”
I was struck by the testimony of Deema Alathel, executive director of global strategic initiatives at tech giant IBM. Alathel used Duke Corporate Education’s Lead with Her conference in London to explain how she used her influence – rather than rank – to inspire others to success. Her thinking recalled Deci’s wise words.
“Influence really starts with how you show up,” Alathel told delegates. “If people feel you’re there to help move something forward – to solve a problem with them – rather than add another layer of oversight, everything shifts. In situations where teams are already stretched, they don’t need another person telling them what to do. They need clarity, context – and someone who helps remove the frictions that they’re facing.”
This reality can be hard for leaders to master. Leaders are charged with ensuring projects are successful, that they run on time and on budget. Yet they cannot be heavy-handed with those on the frontline: people work best when we create the environment for them to succeed on their own terms. “I’m often working across teams, geographies and stakeholders that don’t necessarily report to me,” says Alathel. “And, in many cases, they have their own priorities, their own leadership and their own constraints. What I’ve noticed is that people don’t usually resist because they’re difficult… it is just because they feel ‘managed’, or they don’t see how something connects to what they care about – or they feel like it’s being imposed on them.”
Alathel leads by giving people the relatedness, competence and autonomy that Deci extolled. She recalls a global initiative across multiple regions “where no one really owned the full picture.” She adds: “Everyone had a piece of it, but no one was accountable for bringing it all together.” Alathel spoke to the different teams involved in the initiative, helped them define a shared vision – then let each carve their own paths toward the goal. The project became something that they were building, not merely something that they were being asked to execute. Once that shift happened, explained Alathel, resistance disappeared and the project built momentum. The central principles: alignment, trust, and shared ownership.
Deci died in February 2026 at the age of 83. In his time on Earth, he had discovered an immortal truth: when people are controlled, they tend to comply. But when they are autonomous, they tend to engage.
Alathel might agree: great leaders create space for others to thrive.
Dr Sharmla Chetty is chief executive of Duke Corporate Education. She works with global organizations on leadership, learning and future-ready capability
