Introducing a new management approach
A weekly roundup of the most interesting, useful and thought-provoking articles to help you be a better leader. This week we’re focusing on employee empowerment.
Freedom and guardrails. This article introduces the concept of employee empowerment and how it can benefit your organization, while also covering its pitfalls.
Our take: Employee empowerment is a management approach that balances giving your team enough freedom to take ownership of their jobs, while providing them with clear expectations, adequate training, and productive feedback.
For example, it emphasizes a self-employed mentality. When you let your team know that they can affect business outcomes – that their role can influence the bottom line – they’ll be more invested in the business’s success.
When you ask for input, they’ll be more likely to offer their expertise and best ideas, as they are motivated to contribute and know that their opinions count.
Key takeaway: The employee empowerment approach can drive team members to do outstanding work, initiate new projects, and be a leader to their teammates, affecting the business’s bottom line in a positive way.
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Does it work? The authors of this article analyzed 105 studies on empowering employees to find out if it is helpful.
Our take: There are some clear benefits to the employee empowerment approach. It produces creativity in team members and encourages “citizenship behavior” (e.g. voluntarily helping their colleagues, beyond what is expected of them).
It also gives employees trust in their leaders: they’re more willing to put in extra effort without feeling like they’re being exploited. Conversely, if trust hasn’t been built, employees can perceive this approach as just a new way for management to give them extra work.
Interestingly, how long an employee had been with their company affected how successful this approach was. There was a more positive influence on less experienced or newer employees than those who had been with the company for longer.
Key takeaway: Employee empowerment can be beneficial if it's perceived positively by employees. You’re most likely to see results if it’s implemented after building good relationships with your team, based on trust.
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What it looks like. This article lays out 10 examples of ways to empower your employees.
Our take: Allowing individuals to have more autonomy in decision making can be highly effective. Although it seems risky, giving employees the authority to make decisions without consulting a manager gives them a valuable role – one they will less likely want to leave.
Sometimes simply recognizing when an employee goes above and beyond can have a huge impact, especially when communicated to the whole team. This builds a culture of appreciation, which often leads to increased productivity.
In order to ensure employee empowerment is implemented effectively, provide training courses to managers. Teaching them how to empower their team will make any new initiatives better thought out and executed.
Key takeaway: Unsurprisingly, what employee empowerment looks like should be different in each company. Having conversations about your specific workplace needs is essential, whether through formal management training or leadership meetings.
