http://vimeo.com/5415242

Many managers view empowerment as something you either give or you don't. Similar to delegation – you delegate a task or project to someone, thus you empower them to do that task or project.

However, delegation is wholly separate from empowerment. Delegation may involve empowering someone but the key to empowerment is at what level you actually give power and authority when you delegate.

Often delegation is the act of giving your work to someone else, not necessarily your power and authority.

Empowerment is more than delegation and it's more than giving your power and authority.

It involves determining and expanding on the level of power and authority you are willing to give and the recipient is willing to take.

Empowerment is not simply empowerment. There are different levels, different applications, and different times and circumstances where you need to use different levels of empowerment with the people your are working with.

Each level of empowerment is progressive, meaning that level 1 is the lowest and gives the least amount of power whereas level 6 is the highest and gives the most amount of power.


One of the beauties of the six levels of empowerment is that it can be the basis of an employee development program. When you look at empowerment as an active plan and work to bring employees up the ladder and to also bring your willingness and trust up the same ladder, you can see just how powerful empowerment can be.

As we go through the six levels of empowerment, think not only of what each means but also how they apply to you in your own work experiences and to those who work for you.



The Six Levels of Empowerment [1]

Level One: You research; you report; I will decide.

Level one empowerment is the most basic and simple level. It simply says to an employee "you go do the research (for whatever it is) and report back to me what you find. I will make the final decision. I hold the power and authority."

This may seem too simplistic for our definition of empowerment but you must keep in mind that each activity and each employee requires a specific level of empowerment. Level one may be appropriate for a new hire or for an extremely critical project.

From an employee risk standpoint, this is the safest level. Since the employee is not taking power and authority in making the decision, a bad decision falls on the shoulders of the manager, not the employee.

Level Two: You research; identify the alternatives; suggest one for implementation; I will decide.

Level two empowerment is only slightly but significantly different from level one. At level two you are not only asking an employee to research, you are also asking that they make a recommendation based off of their findings.

You, the manager, are still holding the power and authority to make the final decision but you've empowered your employee to have more input into that decision.

When using empowerment as an employee development program, level two starts to give you a better understanding of what the employee is capable of, how they think and work, and what their decision making processes are. The employee starts to take more responsibility and ownership in the work they are doing.

Level Three: You research; report what you intend to do; but wait for my approval.

Level three is, again, a subtle but significant difference from level two. Now you've given power and authority to your employee to make the decision. "Based off of your research, what are we going to do?" However, you have still retained the power and authority to approve or disapprove their decision.

The "wait for my approval" can be very difficult for people. How long should I wait? How often should I come back to you to see if you've made a decision? Are you happy with my suggestion or decision?

A manager actively working on an empowerment program must recognize these difficulties and be clear on their expectations and on setting their employees expectations. A simple "I'll get back to you with my decision within the next x days" relieves the employee of the above stresses.

Of course, the employee should be responsible (and empowered) enough to be able to say "how long should I wait?", "When can I expect your decision?"

Level Four: You research; report what you intend to do; do it unless I say "no."

A slightly different twist from Level 3. Level four empowerment implies approval of whatever decision the employee has made. Now there is no waiting for your decision but the employee must know, or ask, what it is that may cause you to say "no". In other words, what would stand in the way of "yes". Whatever it is, it must be known ahead of time so the employee can ensure that any potential concerns are addressed.

Level 4 is the first truly empowered level for an employee. You, the manager, have given your decision making power and authority to the employee - while still holding the power of the "breaks", the power to say "hold on, wait a minute…".

Level Five: You research; take action; report what you did.

Level five is often the point where many employees will feel that they've "arrived", that they've earned your trust and are able to work on their own and take full responsibility and ownership not only of specific tasks or projects, but of their entire role within the organization.

Level five is also the stopping point for many employees. For various reasons, employees may want to report what they've done. It may be to ensure that you're aware of the (great) work that they're doing, or it may be a feeling of obligation to keep you in the loop.

As with employees, many managers are also not willing to go past level 5. Managers often want and need to know what's going on. They need to be in the loop if for no other reason than to answer to their manager (depending on their own level of empowerment).

Level Six: You research; take action, no further communication is necessary.

I think by now you get the progression. At level 6, you're telling the employee that they're on their own. They have the power and authority to do what they deem necessary to accomplish the goals of the department and/or the organization.

From an employee risk standpoint, this is where they are out on a limb, so to speak. Nobody is making decisions for them and nobody is watching over their shoulder to make sure that they're making the right decision.

Level 6 may be a very uncomfortable place for employees. Many do not want to be "out on the limb". In this case, it's very easy for the employee to back up a level. Simply by keeping their manager informed about what they are doing (it could be as simple as an occasional email), they're giving their manager the opportunity and knowledge to oversee their activities.

Conclusion

I believe that a basic understanding of the six levels of empowerment shows that empowerment is not a passive activity; it is an active, deliberate program that involves close examination of each circumstance and each employee.

It should be the manager's goal to bring each individual up to the next level of empowerment and it should be each employee's goal to achieve and except each progressive level.

I hope this overview of empowerment was meaningful and useful to you. I also hope that you will consider implementing your own empowerment program within your department and organization.

Think about how useful this tool can be – how powerful empowerment can be - and how much it can increase the quality and performance of your employees.

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[1] Phillip Van Hooser, MBA,CSP, 2003, The Leadership Journey: Practical Skills for Leadership Success.

Empowerment – another over used buzzword and misused concept in today's business. But what does empowerment mean and how can businesses and employees benefit from empowerment?

What does Empowerment mean?

According to Wikipedia: "In the sphere of management and organizational theory, "empowerment" often refers loosely to processes for giving subordinates (or workers generally) greater discretion and resources: distributing control in order to better serve both customers and the interests of employing organizations."

Many businesses have empowerment programs that have all the good intentions but fail on two accounts. The first is actually empowering employees. Rhetoric may be spoken and intentions may be good, but control and power are still maintained by managers and executives. Second, they lack initiative to train and coach employees to take control. You cannot wave your magic wand and say "you are now empowered" and expect employees to change. As well, saying "yes, our employees are empowered" does not make it so.

Also from Wikipedia: "Empowerment in the workplace is regarded by critics as more a pseudo-empowerment exercise, the idea of which is to change the attitudes of workers, so as to make them work harder rather than giving them any real power."

How many of you recognize the latter definition from Wikipedia over the former?


Authority and Power

In order to understand what empowerment is, we must first understand a couple of other concepts.

First is authority. There are two types of authority - formal and informal. Philip Van Houser[1] (2003) defines these in his "Leadership Journey" series:

Formal Authority

The organizational power that comes with the position one holds.

Informal Authority

The personal influential power that comes as a result of one person voluntarily choosing to support or follow another.

Second is power. Again, Van Houser defines:

Power

The ability to grant, withhold or withdraw something someone else wants or needs.

So empowerment, or "to empower someone" is to willingly and knowingly grant our official power to others.

Let's put these concepts to work through example.

An employee comes to you with a request for new equipment. As a manager, you ask a few questions in regard to why this equipment is needed, what it will cost, what is the benefit of having it, and what is the detriment of not having it. You then make a decision.

"Okay, go ahead and get the new equipment." You've just used your formal authority and power to grant something someone else wants or needs. Not only that, you've emotionally satisfied that employee simply by (implicitly or explicitly) agreeing with his or her decision on the need and justification for that new equipment.

What if your decision is "well, let's wait". Possibly because you want to wait for the next budget cycle or for the results of the next marketing campaign or any number of reasons. You have just used your power to withhold something someone else wants or needs. Now that employee is discouraged, upset, or even angry.

The emotional response of these examples pales in comparison when you withdraw something someone else already has. You can be assured that he or she is going to be disappointed, distressed and frustrated and these emotions can be very difficult to deal with.

We must first understand power before we can understand empowerments. It's also important to understand the emotional responses from our use of power.


Empowerment

Empowerment is "willingly and knowingly granting our official power to another". Or to give up that official power to grant withhold or withdraw to someone else.

Empowerment is using your power, not to withhold or withdraw, but to grant to another the power that you've worked to obtain.

Of course, as said before, you can't just wave your magic wand and say, "you are now empowered" and expect it to happen. Empowerment takes training and coaching. Especially for employees who are not used to being empowered, they will likely be very hesitant.

What happens when you try to empower a group of employees who have never been empowered before? It depends on their comfort level. It's much easier to say "no, I'm more comfortable (and safer) to wait to be told what to do; to wait for instruction". Then again, others may be eager to jump at the chance. They know what needs to be done, why wait?

Empowerment happens at the individual level but only works in a team environment. Employees who do not value team success or are only interested in personal success are more likely to be disinterested in empowerment or worse, will abuse newly obtained power.

Coaching and training is needed at all levels to overcome the potential disadvantages. Managers must learn to let go of their official power. They must learn to coach employees on the appropriate use of the power handed to them in regard to the overall business objectives. Managers must learn to trust their employees even, at times, when they disagree with their decisions. They must focus on outcomes and results rather than procedures.

Employees must learn that their power is not to be abused. They must learn to work together as a team and to make decisions directed towards team success. They must be willing to accept and learn to mitigate risks. Employees must be able to trust their manager, their team members, and themselves.


Benefits of Empowerment

Empowerment involves a conceptual mindset geared towards assuring success rather than preventing failure. This is certainly beyond the typical "blame culture" that blocks employees from believing in themselves and their judgments.

People are our most important asset and our most underutilized resource. Independent entrepreneurship and initiative lead to higher levels of employee engagement, increased employee contribution including innovation and productivity, and fewer conflicts due to involvement in the decision making process.

Many organizations are driven by tangible metrics such as profits, output and quality. The benefits of empowerment and involvement tend to be underestimated due to the difficulties of measuring their effects in quantifiable ways.


Conclusion

From Wikipedia: Research suggests that the opportunity to exercise personal discretion/choice (and complete meaningful work) is an important element contributing to employee engagement and well-being. There is evidence… that initiative and motivation are increased when people have a more positive attributional style. This influences self-belief, resilience when faced with setbacks, and the ability to visualize oneself overcoming problems. The implication is that "empowerment" suits some more than others, and should be positioned in the broader context an "enabling" work environment.

Empowerment is an important concept and practice in any business. What we've covered in this article are simple explanations of authority and power that will, hopefully, lead to a better understanding of empowerment.

In part 2, we'll talk more about empowerment at work and the six levels of empowerment.



[1] Phillip Van Hooser, MBA,CSP, 2003, The Leadership Journey: Practical Skills for Leadership Success.

EarthAsylum was conceived with the basic belief that this is not how it's supposed to be...

...but with the knowledge that the world is blessed with life-affirming, ethical, and pioneering leaders discovering a new way of life. A way of life that will bring about the social, political, and personal changes needed for our businesses, our communities and our souls to flourish. We believe these leaders will bring about what it is supposed to be.

We need, support, and encourage life-affirming leaders.

Our mission is to learn by teaching and teach by learning. We strive to understand and develop leadership skills and talent in a way that transcends trends and looks beyond short-term goals.

We see our mutual role as supporting individuals and organizations in achieving effective leadership through life affirming and supporting practices.

We venture to encourage leaders of any age and status as they embark on new challenges, and we hope to empower those that have not yet stretched their leadership abilities or realized their leadership talents.

Our Values

Altruism. We support and encourage those willing to serve; those who gain satisfaction through the pursuit of the greater good; those that believe that leading for the benefit of others is right and good. And we support those who do the right thing because it's the right thing to do.

Self-Expression. We admire the creative and pioneering spirit available in all of us. We wish to create an environment that fosters the growth of this spirit and that creates opportunity for this spirit to flourish unfettered.

Love and Kindness. We believe that people thrive on their relationships with others and that we need to build those relationships out of kindness, understanding, and love.

Integrity and Responsibility. We cannot act for the good; we cannot lead if we are not willing to take responsibility for ourselves and our actions. We will not succeed in leading others if our integrity falters; if we cannot be true to ourselves and to those around us.

Learning and Reflection; Growth and Rebirth. We recognize the necessity of continual learning; of taking time to reflect on our own experiences; in learning from success and from failure. We see personal growth and rebirth as a natural part of life. And we see this as important elements to true leadership.

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EarthAsylum's primary focus is in strengths-based performance. With a philosophy that each person's talents are enduring and unique and each person's greatest room for growth is in their areas of greatest strength, Kevin believes that by concentrating on improving weaknesses we diminish the real catalystic value of our strengths.

..Rather than spending time and energy on boosting sub-par performance areas to an acceptable level (and ignoring areas of excellence). We do better by spending a majority of time enhancing the areas in which we are already strong... Says Kevin. ..A successful performance management plan is centered on individual strengths...

What is critical to success and growth is employee engagement. Engagement is the level at which an employee volunteers discretionary time, effort, and brainpower. It starts with the front-line manager but takes deep involvement throughout the organization.

EarthAsylum delivers results, both to the employer and to the employee. Through strengths-based performance management, talent development, and structured best-practices, your business can achieve the results you desire and your employees will reach new levels of engagement through personal success.

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Kevin Burkholder is a business consultant dedicated to leadership and strengths based performance. Kevin's goal is to help companies and individuals achieve both greater performance and personal fulfillment by focusing on individual talent.

"The traditional business model of the top-down organizational chart cannot produce or maintain corporate excellence into the coming era. Tomorrow's world demands that the chart be turned upside down and that leaders must serve their company by working for their employees to ensure personal engagement in the vision and direction of the company. In order to be successful, companies must find a way to capitalize on the talents and strengths of each individual and to provide an environment that feeds the intrinsic motivations of people by empowering them to let loose their creativity, enthusiasm, and devotion." -- Kevin Burkholder, November 2005.

Recognizing the needed changes in the typical hierarchical structures that we have all accepted, Kevin has embarked both professionally and personally to change the way it is. Through his consulting and coaching practice, Kevin works to enable leaders, managers, and employees to bring out the best they have to offer. Through his personal endeavor - The EarthAsylum Leadership Circle - Kevin is bringing together people who see a better future and are willing to create change and work towards that future.