Post 5b- Daniel Pink and Motivational School Leadership Part 3: Which Comes First, the Autonomy or the Leadership?

Which Came First, the Autonomy or the Great Teaching?

Tonight, I was sitting at a Teacher of the Year awards ceremony and each principal I spoke to mentioned some variation of, "This teacher is so excellent, I just stay out of his/her way and trust them to do what's best for kids."  This is the epitome of Daniel Pink's idea of autonomy.  But I got to wondering . . . Did the fact that the principals gave these teachers autonomy motivate them to become great teachers?  Or did principals give them autonomy because they were great teachers?  In other words, which came first, the autonomy or the great teacher?  Or was it some combination (i.e. they were good teachers, got autonomy, and became great)?

I'd love to hear your opinions on this.  Please share your experiences below.