False dicotomy. Give freedom but require accountability. There should be milestones. Give the team the freedom to determine what the plan is, what the milestone

False dicotomy. Give freedom but require accountability. There should be milestones. Give the team the freedom to determine what the plan is, what the milestones are, and how to show progress. But make sure the plans have some grounding in reality and hold them accountable to their own plans. To explain in more depth: People need both accountability and autonomy. But different people need these in different amounts, and not everyone has the maturity to know how much of each they require. A large part of forminga strong working relationship is learning together how much of each is needed, and building the trust that allows for greater autonomy. You want to start any relationship with the expectation of trust, but ultimately trust must be earned. However, if you're constantly verifying whether you can trust the team then you don't really trust them. Allowing them to set the plan gives them autonomy, and also gives them an initial chance to show that they are worthy of trust by creating and communicating a realistic plan. By giving them the responsibility for defining what their milestones are it changes the dynamic. Instead of you the leader inspecting them to see if you can still trust them to do a good job, it becomes an opportunity for them to show off what a good job they are doing. Small change in ownership, big change in relationship. Unfortunately some people will show you that they are not able to keep themselves on task with too much autonomy. Even then you have an opportunity to create trust. You can invest time in helping them identify why they are underperforming, and try to help them succeed. Act as a mentor, not just an overseer and you will gain their trust in your leadership. Even then, some people will still not step up, but most will. Ultimately real trust must be earned. It can be given optimistically, loaned so to speak, but must be eventually earned. Always assume the best, and try to ascribe good motives to your people, but don't set them up for failure by allowing them to be disconnected from reality. Set them up for success by giving them accountability and opportunities to demonstrate the great job they are doing.