Do You Have "Empowered" Employees?

 

Reading Deanne Earle's Change Through Action Blog this morning, today's post titled "Empowerment—Yeah Right!" inspired me. Deanne suggests, "In my opinion when employers talk about empowerment what they're really saying is they seek to encourage their staff to think for themselves, to come up with ideas, participate, and generally show initiative within a set of controls and after specific direction."

You had better read that last sentence again. Particularly the end. "...within a set of controls and after specific direction."

This sounds like having your cake and eating it too. This isn't real empowerment, this is pseudo-empowerment—the illusion of empowerment. Deanne cites a book written by William Tate, "The Search for Leadership." "Henry Mintzberg (1999) offers the view that real empowerment is the most natural state of affairs: people know what they have to do and simply get on with it. If an organization exhibits real empowerment, it doesn't need to talk about it."

I agree with Deanne, I believe most organizations like to "talk the talk," but can't seem to "walk the walk."

Like most of us, I've worked for people who believe that the only way to get things done right, is to do it yourself. This kind of attitude is NOT empowering to employees. Fortunately, I've also worked for people who believe that hiring people smarter than themselves and allowing them make decisions and solve problems is the best way to get things done.

As Deanne asserts, "In an organization where control is king, telling people they're empowered is contradictory and nonsensical. People aren't stupid so insulting their intelligence in this way is dis-empowering. They know that this type of culture doesn't permit let alone support empowerment."

Deanne is spot on in my opinion. If your workforce (or project teams) don't believe they are empowered, they won't operate that way. "It doesn't matter what the talk is," says Deanne, "if the perception is one of disbelief they will not feel empowered."

Creating an environment where the team not only feels empowered, but is able to act that way, is something that sets apart the true project leader. In my experience, trusting the team to do their job and empowering them with the ability to do so, just makes sense. Most people "step up" if given the opportunity. If you have team members who don't, or won't, in reality maybe you need to start looking for replacements.

Leadership is not about micromanaging, it's about facilitation, teaching, and ... dare I say it ... empowering.

Have you ever worked with or lead empowered teams? Why don't you tell us about the experience.