Margaret “Magi” Graziano is founder/CEO of KeenAlignment and author of “Ignite Culture” on leading healthy, high-performance organizations.
In today’s workplace, “empowerment” is often used as a buzzword, synonymous with things like promotions, pay raises or handing off new responsibilities. However, empowerment is more than just assigning someone a task and expecting them to figure it out as they go. Simply saying, “Congratulations, you’re promoted!” without giving clear guidance or adequate resources is not empowerment at all. That’s abdication.
Actual empowerment requires a deeper approach that involves providing context, resources, structure and ongoing support.
To understand what empowerment looks like, we need to start with its definition. What empowerment really means is enabling someone to take ownership and self-regulate within their role in the organization. They’re given the freedom to make decisions and the confidence to manage themselves. However, this autonomy doesn’t mean they’re left alone without support or guidance. There are three main areas of focus from the “emergent culture” model that come into play here: intent, environment and architecture.
Foundational Elements For Empowerment
1. Intent
This is the big “why” of the organization. Constantly ordering people around at work does not promote higher levels of contribution. People need to understand the purpose and importance of their tasks.
As a leader, take the time to share the big picture, the reasoning and the larger impact of your team’s work. In doing so, your people will feel more invested. They can get a clear sense of how their role fits into the bigger picture and why it matters to the organization as a whole. The clearer and more intentional their role is, the stronger the buy-in and the more people will feel empowered to contribute to your organization.
2. Environment
Environment involves the working conditions, expectations and shared agreements that create collaboration and accountability. An empowering environment is one where both parties understand what they need from each other.
For example, open communication channels can keep projects moving forward, help projects stay on track and provide an opportunity for feedback. Ensure you’re creating a space where your team feels they can ask questions, get the support they need and feel safe enough to take initiative.
3. Architecture
Architecture is the systems, structures and tools that support each person in your organization. Examples include project management tools, regular check-in meetings and training programs for new hires and new roles. These structures are the foundation that enables people to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
To understand how well your architecture is enabling your employees, ask, on a scale of one to 10, how much authority and support they experience in their role and what’s missing that, if present, would make a difference. Once you come right out and ask and are really willing to listen to what’s said, you can determine what level of architecture is needed.
Why Abdication Is Not Empowerment
In many workplaces, there’s a misconception that handing off a task to someone is empowering them. However, empowerment is not “sink or swim.” Throwing an employee into a role they’re unfamiliar with, without guidance or resources, is abandoning them. Real empowerment involves ensuring the person knows what they’re supposed to do and has the skills, tools and context they need to succeed.
Imagine you’re working on a project and only a fraction of the relevant information is shared with you. You might feel lost, unsupported or even resentful. When people are left feeling this way, it’s impossible to be empowered. Empowerment involves sharing the big picture so the person understands both the immediate task and the overall goals of the project or initiative.
Sustaining Empowerment Through Agency, Autonomy And Accountability
There are three additional principles essential to the process of empowerment: agency, autonomy and accountability. When these principles are all present in a workplace, empowerment is not only possible but also sustainable. They create a system where people can take ownership of their roles, make meaningful contributions and grow within the organization.
1. Agency
This is the individual’s sense of personal power, including their ability to take action and influence their outcomes. Agency means feeling capable of self-regulating and making decisions. For someone to feel empowered, they need to believe that they have control over their work and are equipped to achieve their goals.
For example, you might hold quarterly reviews of the purpose of someone’s role, performance indicators and how well the person feels they are set up to win. This could be a simple one-on-one meeting asking direct questions about what is and isn’t working and what the employee needs from their manager or department to succeed.
It’s also important to set an intention for each project, initiative or responsibility and how that project, initiative or responsibility feeds into the overall organization. Then, there’s space and time for the employee to ask questions and clarify what the company’s expectations are.
2. Autonomy
Autonomy is about having freedom (within boundaries). An empowered individual should be able to make decisions about their work without worrying about being micromanaged. However, autonomy doesn’t mean there’s zero support or oversight. Establish clear guidelines and expectations to allow people to exercise autonomy within a system that keeps them accountable for their tasks and deadlines.
3. Accountability
Accountability is a two-way street involving both the person being empowered and the leader who is empowering them. Without accountability, autonomy and agency can devolve into confusion and halt progress. For someone to be genuinely empowered, they need to be held accountable for their work. However, as their leader, they also need to feel that they are being held accountable for providing continued support, guidance, and resources.
Shared Responsibility
Leaders have to make time to communicate the big picture, set up an environment conducive to self-management and ensure the architecture is in place to support forward momentum. The person being empowered needs to be willing to take on responsibility, ask for help when needed and remain accountable for their role and whatever it entails.
When done correctly, empowerment results in employees who are engaged, feel valued and are equipped to succeed. They are contributing to the organization’s goals instead of solely following orders and going through the motions. Empowerment done right benefits every individual, team and the entire organization as a whole.
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