Leaders, Are your teams empowered?

The key to your team's success is taking the risk of letting go and giving power to your people. That's essentially what the word 'empowerment' is saying. Yes, it's scary. It means giving up some control. But by making your staff stronger, you strengthen the whole organization.

India-based CEO Vineet Nayar has built a highly successful software company by embarking upon a management philosophy he calls "Employees First." In a blog post, he wrote:

“All too often, companies take employees — the lifeblood of every organization — for granted, and the hype surrounding their leaders overshadows the work that employees do. Together, employees have the power to find innovative solutions to the many problems we face. Yet, we prefer to wait for a superhero to change the world with the wave of a magic wand. Let's not fool ourselves; employees are at the core of every game-changing idea. They have built yesterday and today, and undoubtedly, they are going to fashion tomorrow. ”
Washington D.C.-based creativity consultant Kristen Barney, at her blog Insight & Interaction, writes "when an organization has a culture and practices that support everyone in stepping into their highest potential, leaders can expect members to take initiative and excel beyond what is possible when controlled from the top."

Nayar and Barney are right on the money. If you are a leader in your organization and you want innovation, your job is to build the culture and practices that will support your people stepping up to their potential.

Regarding the role of the leader, Nayar has said "Get out of the way!"

"The role of the CEO is to enable people to excel, help them discover their own wisdom, engage themselves entirely in their work, and accept responsibility for making change.” 
When a leader does this, the people will say “We did it ourselves.”

Together, employees have the power to find innovative solutions to the many problems we face.

Four key steps in learning to empower others...

Respect - Effective leaders have a deep respect for their followers. They show it by asking for input, by listening, by speaking the truth, by keeping promises, and by building trust.

Engage - Effective leaders practice lively engagement with their people, seeking their involvement in change initiatives, seeking their ideas and opinions on improvements, having frequent two-way conversations, and making them feel like they are part of the very heart of the business.

Acknowledge - Effective leaders notice each member of the team as an individual human being, recognizing each one's talents, strengths, issues, and goals. Effective leaders are great listeners, opening up to everyone's perspectives, even making sure that dissenting voices are heard.

LBYE - Effective leaders know that they lead by their example. They understand that 'everything they do teaches.' So they coach on a regular basis, always on the lookout for potential that can be evoked and developed.

Highly engaged cultures are action oriented and collaborative. They cherish and unleash the real personalities of the people who work there, resulting in creativity, fun and excitement. In addition to this energy, these organizations empower people through trust, training, and teamwork.

Organizations known for service excellence, like Disney, Southwest Air, and Costco, invest a lot in developing their people. Delegation of assignments and responsibility is a great way to develop others. Plus it empowers them to take on more, growing not only their skills but also their sense of ownership.

Effective leaders do everything in their power to support their people so that they can be successful. In a nutshell, the best leaders empower their people. By giving the team the tools, the training, the equipment, the information, and the authority, plus whatever else is needed to get the job done, the leader has set the team free. 

The best way to find out how effective a leader is, is to ask the led. The followers know best how well their leader is doing. 

Do you have the courage to ask them?

Terrence Seamon has over thirty years of business experience in leadership development, management training, team building, and organizational change, in both internal as well as external consulting roles. Terry has a Master’s degree in Education from Rutgers Graduate School of Education, as well as a Bachelor's degree in Human Communication from Rutgers. His main interest areas these days are change and transition, job search coaching, stress and wellness, employee engagement, and leadership development. You can find him on twitter at tseamonand on facebook at Facilitation Solutions.

For more guidance on Leadership, read Terry's book Lead the Way