Tool Box
Issue No. 29 - June/July 2006
The rewards of empowerment
by Rex Buckingham
It seems to be a popular myth that empowerment is about giving away ‘power’ to others, unconditionally – it is not!
Anyway, the decision to ‘give away’ would always put the giver into a powerful position.
Oddly, where there is no empowerment, many staff take important decisions regardless — just that it is either not recognised, or recognised but ignored in an abdication of authority.
If ‘empowerment’ has not yet brought the fruits that it should have to South Australian business, that is because it has still not been widely or effectively implemented.
Too often, in fact, workers have been ‘empowered’ without the proper consideration, negotiation and acceptance. When given, the giver hasn’t known how to react when the empowered user has acted inappropriately.
A proper, empowered relationship between worker and employer starts with clarity and knowledge — clarity of the employee’s skills and experience base, knowledge of the job and the associated responsibilities.
Empowerment can be given in ‘bits and pieces’ — perhaps should only be given in that way.
An enterprise needs to be in good shape to be able to effectively develop its people. Empowerment is about development and recognition of those people, at the same time underlining the fact that the manager is not the only one who makes decisions, knows, and is able!
Effective job descriptions and performance management techniques need to have been developed and practiced first. Then there is a platform for empowerment to be based on and an environment that will support it.
The ‘swinging scales’ in the picture above refer to the justice and injustice of someone giving away empowerment improperly — given one day, taken away the next. Once someone has received the recognition of being allowed to think and act of their own accord, in line with accepted enterprise values and strat...
