Empowering People Must be Number One for Every Leader
As a leader in business today, it is to your advantage to let your people assume more responsibility when they can. Can you recognize when someone is ready? On the other hand, do you find reasons to tell yourself that they aren’t ready yet?
Over the years, I have found that many want to be treated as “partners” rather than employees. They want ideas to flow up and down within the organization. However, many leaders do not like to give up control for fear of someone being unable to handle it. It’s important to acknowledge and address these concerns through clear communication, training, and gradual delegation of responsibilities.
Can you feel comfortable focusing more on empowering others, letting them take ownership and commit to decisions, and less on your need to add value?
If your employees are like most companies, they understand their jobs well. They can better relate their tasks, roles, and functions within the company than HR.
It’s time for you, as the leader, to let them do what they need to do to get the job done.
As a leader, you can influence and inspire your employees to be responsible, accountable, and committed. However, their responsibility is ultimately to bring these qualities to the table. As Marshall Goldsmith has often emphasized, your role is to make good decisions and create an environment that encourages self-empowerment.
As a leader, your role fosters a decision-making environment that empowers your employees. You must provide them with the necessary tools and knowledge to make and act on their own decisions. This is how you can help your employees truly understand and embrace the concept of empowerment.
According to Marshall Goldsmith, leaders can do a few things to build an environment that empowers people.
•Give power to those who have demonstrated the capacity to handle it. For instance, if you have a team member who consistently delivers high-quality work and shows initiative, consider allowing them to lead a project or make decisions that affect their work.
•Create a favorable environment where people are encouraged to grow their skills.
•Don’t second-guess others’ decisions and ideas unless necessary. Doing so only undermines their confidence and prevents them from sharing future ideas with you.
•Give people discretion and autonomy over their tasks and resources.
Takeaway: You will find that many employees (future leaders) see the value in empowerment and are willing to take on the responsibilities that come with it. By empowering your future leaders, you are preparing them for leadership roles and fostering a culture of innovation and growth. If your future leaders have the wisdom to learn from the experience of your present leaders, and if present leaders have the insight to build an environment that empowers people, both will share in the benefits of a more empowered and successful workforce.
Leadership Questions: How do you share power with your people? Do you hold on to all of it yourself? Do you seek to grow leaders or import them?
Keys: |Application: Leaders and Employees |Status: Strategic |Duration: DNA Embed |Impact: High
