'Parks and Rec' creator: My No. 1 strategy for helping 'people do their best'—it works anywhere

CNBC

3 days ago

The key to coaxing the best results from your team at work: Give them equal doses of structure and creative freedom, says Mike Schur, the Emmy Award-winning creator of television shows like NBC's "Parks and Recreation," "The Good Place" and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
"I believe that people do their best work when there's a strong system that also allows for freedom within the system," Schur told comedian Amy Poehler on a May 20 episode of her podcast, "Good Hang."
Even experienced professionals need good managers to bring out their best ideas and collaborative work, said Schur. He's found the most success by giving workers enough autonomy to get their creative juices properly flowing, while establishing clear boundaries to ensure they can meet their deadlines without veering off task, he said.
Describing his process, Schur said he first works to "set up the boundaries," telling his team what needs to be done and when, before setting them free to reach those goals however they choose.
"You lay out the fence and you [say] 'Anywhere in here is fine,'" said Schur. "Then you get the funniest people you can, who are the most comfortable and happy, and you say: 'Don't worry, everything's taken care of, rules are in place, the fence is in place, go crazy.' And you let people do their best, most fun, most joyous work."Flexibility and an open dialogue help create that welcoming environment of structured freedom, added Poehler, who starred in and co-produced "Parks and Recreation," with Schur serving as the showrunner.
"People that are in your systems are very well taken care of, very well considered. And, in my case, it changed my life to be in your system. I love a good system too," Poehler said, adding: "You are not a strict person who doesn't take feedback."
Schur isn't alone in his approach. Managers can inspire creative thinking — and better results — by giving their teams more autonomy over how an idea is created, or how a goal is reached, psychologist Teresa M. Amabile wrote for the Harvard Business Review in 1998.
"People will be more creative, in other words, if you give them freedom to decide how to climb a particular mountain," Amabile wrote. "You needn't let them choose which mountain to climb. In fact, clearly specified strategic goals often enhance people's creativity."
When Google went public in 2004, it had a "20% time" rule, where employees were encouraged to spend 20% of their time at work on projects that "they think will most benefit Google," co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page wrote at the time.
Having the autonomy to experiment with interesting side projects, with the agreed-upon structure of working to "benefit" the company, "empowers [employees] to be more creative and innovative," wrote Page and Brin.
Similarly, Netflix co-founder and chairman Reed Hastings built a corporate culture around what he calls "freedom and responsibility." At Netflix, employees are granted enough freedom to let their creativity run wild, making the company more adaptable when seeking solutions to major challenges, Hastings wrote in a 2009 PowerPoint presentation.
Netflix balances that freedom with an expectation of accountability, where employees are expected to own their failures and take responsibility when goals are not met, according to Hastings' presentation. Those boundaries are essential to ensure you can "give freedom and not have chaos," he told CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin in 2020, adding that he seeks out employees who can effectively prioritize that balance.
Schur also said he's typically drawn to working with "roll-with-the-punches people" who can collaborate with each other in nearly any circumstance. "Wonderful things happen" when you hire smart and creative people who can improvise when needed, establish clear boundaries, and give them room to play, he said.
That strategy might not be "revelatory," Schur noted. But "I really believe that is the best way to work creatively in a group.",