Ravinder Tulsiani Unleash the EDGE: Build a solid foundation for effective empowerment

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Build a solid foundation for effective empowermentThe key to making it work is incorporating all four of these essential elements in your empowerment strategy. By ManageBetter | Posted: June 28, 2013 DataSource: The requested DataSource 5f4ce871-9abc-4ec7-89fd-43fb6c737f57 is not accessible.

“Empowerment” may seem like an overused term, but it’s still a valid concept for any manager who wants to maximize performance and productivity.

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The key to making it work is incorporating all four of these essential elements in your empowerment strategy:

• Authority. You can’t simply empower employees to tackle a project or solve a problem without giving them sufficient authority to get things done. If they have to constantly obtain your permission for every decision—or if other employees insist on getting your approval before doing anything— they don’t have any real power. You can monitor progress, but don’t stand in the employee’s way.

• Resources. Does the employee have the equipment, budget, people, and whatever else is necessary to the project’s ultimate success? Discuss the task in detail before delegating it so you all have a good idea of what’s going to be needed. Shutting down a project halfway through because it requires more resources than you expected is a sure way to squelch motivation to take on future assignments.

• Information. You’ve got to trust employees with all the data they need to do a good job. If they sense you’re keeping pertinent facts from them, they may grow more concerned with protecting themselves than finishing the task successfully. Be as open as possible so employees can make good decisions based on the truth.

• Accountability. “Empowerment” doesn’t mean letting employees do whatever they want. When discussing the assignment, emphasize the rewards of success and the consequences of failure. Don’t try to scare the employee, but do make clear that you expect his or her full commitment, and that you’ll evaluate results honestly.

—Adapted from the Dr. Bev Smallwood website

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