Everyone seems to agree
and supports the idea of empowering your employees. Leaders want to empower their people. But while
empowering sounds good and beneficial, not many leaders are actually empowering
their people.
Much of the frustration
that people have today with business is that no one seems to be empowered to
get anything done. Why? Simply because the reality is that giving up
control is insanely difficult. In the business world, empowerment can mean
giving up control of tasks, embracing an employees’ suggestions, or even using
ideas that come from outside your current company. We are all guilty of not wanting to give up
power.
In a study conducted by
Leadership IQ entitled “The State of Leadership Development” some interesting
findings were as follows:
- Only 29% of employees say their leader is always open to using ideas/practices from outside the company to improve performance.
- Only 16% say their leader always removes the roadblocks to their success.
- Only 20% say their leader always takes an active role in helping employees to grow and develop their full potential.
- Only 29% say their leader’s vision for the future always seems to be aligned with the organization's.
- Only 27% say their leader always encourages and recognizes suggestions for improvement.
- Only 26% say their leader always responds constructively when employees share their work problems.
- Only 20% say their leader always shares the challenges we're facing.
When employees give me
alternatives, I avoid telling them which one I want. Instead, I ask for their
suggestions.
I’m open to using
ideas/practices from outside the company to improve our team’s performance.
I encourage and
recognize my employees’ suggestions for improvement.
If you are brutally honest with yourself while considering these
statements you’ll discover where you are on empowerment or if you struggle to empower.
