Recently, I was working with a client – a gentleman that ultimately oversaw 1,000+ consumer-facing retail banking associates, and we were discussing the topic of empowerment.
The word “empowerment” gave him pause. In a highly regulated industry, dealing with customers’ very private data and information, I can understand that his default setting was to be conservative or judicious. Layer on the fact that at this particular institution they were going through a number of cultural shifts, and there was somewhat of a power struggle between executive leaders and the retail facing employee-base.
In his mind the notion of empowerment meant that employees would be able to take liberties and operate more autonomously, which – yes, could be slightly threatening in that setting and at that time.
At Lead for Culture, when we talk about empowerment in corporate settings, though, we are referring more to the art of communication and the act of providing information in a way that will empower people. I love the term parsimony, which means to provide your people with a simple, clear set of choices in order to guide all other choices. When employees have what they need and are empowered to make day-to-day decisions, this frees leaders up to focus on strategically orienting the business and realizing future opportunities.
A good exercise can be to examine your organization’s vision and values. When you read your vision, is it written in a way that would inform any member of your c-suite to manage their vertical and operate in a way that aligns with the overall company direction? It needs to be parsimonious yes, not an all-inclusive roadmap, but simple and universal in its ability to lead people back to the goal and the intention.
Let’s explore usage of the phrase “relentless pursuit of growth” in a vision statement. This implies and ultimately directs and empowers leaders to choose growth (possibly growth at all costs) when they are at an impasse. This could mean saying yes to customers more often, it could mean lowering prices, it could mean employees work overtime to keep up with growing demand, or any number of choices or reactions. If we slightly alter that sentiment to read “relentless pursuit of sustainable growth”, one could expect an entirely different set of decisions and actions. One word empowers your people to choose, and this one word is critical to your strategy.
A resounding component of empowerment is the presence of choice, not only to promote “self-organization” but to fulfill a basic human need (Maslow’s Theory of Motivation). Cultures of empowerment are providing information about a journey, and inviting people to join them on that journey versus dictating that they come. Some research suggests that the existence of free will promotes life satisfaction, healthy decision-making, and accountability. “This was my choice, I made it, I will own it”.
Empowerment does not mean giving your employees free reign over everything they do. It means giving them the information they need to make healthy choices on behalf of your organization and on behalf of themselves, and promoting their participation in your success.