Have you heard a manager friend complain about how they can never be gone for vacation or job-related seminars or conferences because they can't trust their employees for that long? If so, they have not found the principal of empowerment...
Empowerment means a degree of freedom for a manager and, perhaps even more important, fulfilled and developed employees...
Empowerment - A Management 'Must-Have'
You see, most managers come from the 'shop-floor' and find it difficult to let go of that role.
When they try to take a step upwards into a full management role, it makes them feel uncomfortable - as if they are not working 'hard enough'.
It's a two-fold problem, it leaves all the critical answers in the lap of one person and employees are at a loss, or afraid to make a simple decision in the absence of their superior.
Empowerment Improves Productivity - A Lot!
Where there are a bunch of employees who are not able to contribute fully because a manager hasn't been able to 'let go' enough, they almost wilfully step back when they could get more involved.
That way they can get off making a decision and risk less.
Why be dealing with an unruly, dissatisfied customer, when they could be doing something less stressful with their time?
It's The Manager's Fault!
It's easy for a manager to let this happen.
They need to know that they will be far better in their own job when they give their people the ability to decide for themselves the actions to take.
In the front line with customers, having the power to solve their problems fast is a particularly valuable asset.
Delighting Customers With Employee Empowerment!
No customer likes to be told that 'the manager will be with you in a minute'. Often they will treat this as a 'put-off' designed to hold off a decision in their favor.
They believe that the manager is waiting in the back office, or that the employees have been trained to give this response, and therefore, it becomes an excuse for the employees to blame it on the manager, and the customer to blame it on the manager.
Managers facing such an intervention are more likely to have annoyed customers to face, which is not much fun for anyone.
Strong Teams Make Managers Great
A manager cannot do it all - their performance depends on how they get the best from their team.
By giving employees the capacity to act on the manager's behalf they will benefit incredibly with that level of trust.
You will stand behind the logical decisions they make, and then let them know what you might have done different, you are teaching them to become a manager.
Any manager with that sort of team ethic will benefit hugely from the freedom that comes as a result.
Empowerment Is Good For All
Of course, when a manager has been used to keeping every tricky decision to themselves, it's a bit of a fear to let things go - and it can be one of the best things they can learn to do.
Their people start to feel that they are contributing more fully and, perhaps most importantly, recognize that they can personally make a difference to the success of the organization.
It's a truly exciting step to take when a manager decides to take a route to fully empower their people.
Turning Teams Around
Any manager who develops the way they empower their people will be pleasantly fascinated at how they see individuals develop as part of the team output.
They begin to reach a level of management development that all managers should desire-a staff that can exist without them. - 15246
Empowerment means a degree of freedom for a manager and, perhaps even more important, fulfilled and developed employees...
Empowerment - A Management 'Must-Have'
You see, most managers come from the 'shop-floor' and find it difficult to let go of that role.
When they try to take a step upwards into a full management role, it makes them feel uncomfortable - as if they are not working 'hard enough'.
It's a two-fold problem, it leaves all the critical answers in the lap of one person and employees are at a loss, or afraid to make a simple decision in the absence of their superior.
Empowerment Improves Productivity - A Lot!
Where there are a bunch of employees who are not able to contribute fully because a manager hasn't been able to 'let go' enough, they almost wilfully step back when they could get more involved.
That way they can get off making a decision and risk less.
Why be dealing with an unruly, dissatisfied customer, when they could be doing something less stressful with their time?
It's The Manager's Fault!
It's easy for a manager to let this happen.
They need to know that they will be far better in their own job when they give their people the ability to decide for themselves the actions to take.
In the front line with customers, having the power to solve their problems fast is a particularly valuable asset.
Delighting Customers With Employee Empowerment!
No customer likes to be told that 'the manager will be with you in a minute'. Often they will treat this as a 'put-off' designed to hold off a decision in their favor.
They believe that the manager is waiting in the back office, or that the employees have been trained to give this response, and therefore, it becomes an excuse for the employees to blame it on the manager, and the customer to blame it on the manager.
Managers facing such an intervention are more likely to have annoyed customers to face, which is not much fun for anyone.
Strong Teams Make Managers Great
A manager cannot do it all - their performance depends on how they get the best from their team.
By giving employees the capacity to act on the manager's behalf they will benefit incredibly with that level of trust.
You will stand behind the logical decisions they make, and then let them know what you might have done different, you are teaching them to become a manager.
Any manager with that sort of team ethic will benefit hugely from the freedom that comes as a result.
Empowerment Is Good For All
Of course, when a manager has been used to keeping every tricky decision to themselves, it's a bit of a fear to let things go - and it can be one of the best things they can learn to do.
Their people start to feel that they are contributing more fully and, perhaps most importantly, recognize that they can personally make a difference to the success of the organization.
It's a truly exciting step to take when a manager decides to take a route to fully empower their people.
Turning Teams Around
Any manager who develops the way they empower their people will be pleasantly fascinated at how they see individuals develop as part of the team output.
They begin to reach a level of management development that all managers should desire-a staff that can exist without them. - 15246
About the Author:
(c) 2008 Martin Haworth, a business coach and 25 year time served manager, has written Super Successful Manager!, a very simple, week-by-week performance improvement program for managers of EVERY skill level. You can get a sample lesson for free at http://www.SuperSuccessfulManager.com.
