Empowering Workers

by

Stuart Gray

What You Will Learn• What empowerment is, is not.• Some important assumptions under-

girding the concept of empowerment.• What empowerment will not, might do

for a company.• Ten ways to empower workers.• Empowerment involves different

levels and different types of organization changes.

What Is Empowerment

Providing employees with the power, the skills, the supervision, the organization structure, the confidence, and the motivation to function at their optimal potential.

Empowerment Is Not• Turning the company over to the

employees• Less supervision of employees• Doing away with all organization

structures• Tricking employees into working harder• A rehash of:

• quality circles• participative management• job enrichment• flattening org structures

Empowering Workers Will Not• Result in less work• Make anyone's job easier• Solve all of the problems at work• Eliminate the need for managers

and supervisors• End all conflicts• Make everyone happy

Empowering Workers Might

• Increase employee satisfaction• Raise productivity (30% average)• Strengthen Commitment To The

Job & The Organization• Increase Individual Effort Toward

Organizational Goals• Heighten Employee Motivation• Improve Quality

Some Important Assumptions• Workers are not lazy, they really

want to make a contribution

Some Important Assumptions• Workers want more than money

Some Important Assumptions• Workers have many talents, skills,

and ideas that go unused by employers

Some Important Assumptions• In today's highly competitive

global economy, companies can no longer afford to waste their valuable human resources

Some Important Assumptions• A major challenge is to find ways

of better utilizing all of our human resources

Some Important Assumptions• A better use of human resources

(empowerment) requires making major changes in how companies go about their business

Ten Ways To Empower Workers

CLEARLY DEFINE RESPONSIBILITIES

DELEGATE ADEQUATE AUTHORITY

SET STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE

TRAIN & DEVELOP

PROVIDE INFORMATION

GIVE FEEDBACK

RECOGNIZE

RESPECT

TRU

ST

PERM

ISSION

TO

FAIL

Increase Responsibility

The only way people ever grow is to take on new and more challenging projects.

Delegate Authority

Workers must be given sufficient authority to fulfill the responsibilities assigned them.

Set Standards Of Excellence

Workers want to do well and will strive to meet expectations.

Provide Training & Development

Workers must acquire the requisite skills to perform.

Supply Information

Information is power to act and perform.

Furnish Feedback

No person can correct her/his errors or profit from mistakes without specific and frequent feedback.

Bestow Recognition

Recognition is a motivator to do more and better work.

Trust

Trust is an essential element of all healthy human relationships, including colleagues in the workplace.

Grant Permission To Fail

It is only when people have permission to fail that they are willing to try new things and take appropriate risks.

Respect

To be respected, a manager must give respect.

Empowerment Requires Changes

• Changes in the organization’s culture (i.e., how they do things around here).

• Changes in mindsets (workers take on a self-managing, accountable approach to their work).

• Changes in the way groups of individuals work together focusing on how tasks are completed as well as the tasks themselves.

From• Pyramids• Dependency• Departments• Work Standards

Superimposed• Individual Performance

Appraised• Individual Performance

Rewarded• Information Hoarded• Responsibility

Delegated

To• Circles• Autonomy• Project Teams• Self-imposed Work

Standards • Individual & Group

Performance Appraised• Individual & Group

Performance Rewarded• Information Shared• Responsibility, Authority,

& Accountability Delegated

Empowerment Involves Shifting Structures

From• Chiefs & Indians• Decision Makers & Doers • Brains & Brawns• They & Us• Experts & Learners• VIP & UIP

To• Valued Employees• Co Problem Solvers• Needed Contributors• Team Members• Learners• VIP

Empowerment InvolvesChanging Relationships

Implementing Empowerment Changes• Begin with a vision• Make systemic changes• Experiment on a small scale• Link to current organization needs,

problems, or opportunities• Become thoroughly informed

regarding similar changes enacted during the past 5 years

Implementing Empowerment Changes• Have a plan, collect baseline and end

results data, establish criteria for judging success

• Be prepared for objections• Develop supportive coalitions• Get top management's support• Keep top management and other key

individuals informed throughout the project

How Open Is Your Organization To Empowering Changes?• Do Managers– Help employees get the job done– Initiate inquiry about common ways

of thinking– Challenge assumptions– Encourage risk and experimentation– Delegate authority and responsibility– Inspire a shared vision by enlisting

values, hopes, and dreams– Foster a learning environment

How Open Is Your Organization To Empowering Changes?• Do Managers – Promote shared information and

collaborative problem solving– Model behavior- “walks the talk”– Appreciate diversity of style and behavior– Focus on developing people– Give “carefrontive,” not confrontive,

feedback and help people learn and grow– Encourage self-expression and open

discussion of conflict

How Open Is Your Organization To Empowering Changes?• Do Employees– Take responsibility for actions– Speak out about problems and ways

to work better– Seek to solve problems, not to place

blame– See network of “customer”

relationships, internal and external– Are willing to engage in inquiry about

assumptions

How Open Is Your Organization To Empowering Changes?• Are Relationships Characterized By– Commitment to collaboration– Mutual trust and respect– Engagement of others in decisions– Shared accountability, rewards, and

penalties– Helpfulness to each other– Communication of all relevant information– Cross-departmental learning– Focus on process and learning

How Open Is Your Organization To Empowering Changes?• Does The Organization Culture Reflect

– Reward systems-Rewards are consistent with organizational values.

– Shared values-Commonly accepted values are well articulated and widely understood.

– Human-capital focus-Individual high performance (physical, emotional, and spiritual) is developed and maintained.

How Open Is Your Organization To Empowering Changes?• Does The Organization Culture Reflect– Work autonomy and job flexibility-The

organization is responsive to individual life-cycle demands, provides lateral and vertical expansion of skills and contributions, and is committed to mastery of multiple skills.

– Commitment to high quality and customer service-The organization pays attention to the marketplace, is flexible in its response, and keeps up a dialogue about needs.

How Open Is Your Organization To Empowering Changes?• Does The Organization Culture Reflect

– Commitment to communication-Information about vision, strategy, and direction is shared within the organization, and employee input is elicited and responded to.

– Creation of a community-People feel good about working together.

– Effective stress management and career development-People are allowed to practice self-care to avoid burnout and are supported to find resources to grow at work.

What You Have Learned• What empowerment is, is not.• Some important assumption under-

girding the concept of empowerment.• What empowerment will not, might do

for a company.• Ten ways to empower workers.• Empowerment involves different levels

and different types of organization changes.