I was going to title this post, “Are You Empowering Your People to Make Decisions?” But then I realized I was asking the wrong question. If I asked 50 managers if they are empowering those they supervise, their answers would be a unanimous “yes.” If I asked the people they supervise, chances are the answers would be quite different.
Someone once said, “Perception is reality,” and that’s the case here. I can make an effort to empower people all I want. But if they don’t feel empowered, I have failed as a manager. So, what can we do to ensure those around us feel empowered to make the decisions that drive the organization forward? Here are a few ideas:
First, give them the permission. When delegating a responsibility, it is easy to assume that the person will understand that the authority to act comes with the assignment. But is this really true? It’s one thing to say, “You’re now the project manager,” for instance. It’s quite another to say, “You’re now the project manager. That comes with the authority to hire and fire people, spend the budget as you see fit, and assign tasks as you deem appropriate. Let’s sit down and discuss the details of what this means and the parameters under which you must make decisions.” Sadly, most managers delegate the responsibility but fail to drill down on the specifics. Then they wonder why the person asks endless questions and is hesitant to act independently.
There’s also the matter of trust. Unfortunately, we’ve all seen people thrown “under the bus” at one time or another. That makes us hesitant to act, even when the decision seems clear. As a manager, I can say, “I trust you,” but pretty much everyone waits for the evidence.
Second, reassure them by saying, “I have your back.” Then demonstrate it. Every employee will smile and nod when you say this. But they’re thinking, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” When you go to the mat after they’ve made a mistake or been the victim of an unexpected outcome, that’s when they’ll begin to believe it. Do this enough and you’ll garner the trust of everyone who reports to you. These don’t not have to be large demonstrations, by the way. Simply backing up what someone said in a meeting is a small way of showing that you trust their judgment.
Third, remind them of what they have already accomplished. We humans have short memories. We also tend to focus on what went wrong, not what went right. In other words, the thought of one poor decision, can overshadow the hundreds of good decisions we’ve made over the past six months. As a manager, you see the larger collection of decisions each of your people makes. When they become overly dependent on you, remind them that there have been other times when they’ve made similar decisions successfully. The best managers I’ve had have made a point of saying things like, “I liked the way you approached that decision,” or “That was a tough choice and you handled it well.” I probably knew that already. But it sure was nice of the boss to validate what I was doing.
Fourth, give them the opportunity to practice. An insurance executive I interviewed told me the firm was experiencing trouble with inconsistent repair estimates between similar claims. The solution was to bring the adjustors together once per month to examine the inconsistent estimates and discuss the differences in interpretation. This solved the issue in a matter of weeks, but the adjustors have continued this practice to ensure ongoing consistency. Discussing case studies and sample situations during staff meetings can sometimes seem time consuming. But there are few better ways to help people hone their decision-making skills.
Finally, provide specific feedback. “You’re doing a good job,” is meaningless as a critique. But so is, “You’ve got to make better decisions.” Whether you’re providing favorable or unfavorable feedback, be specific. You may think I am preaching to the choir. But how often do we all take the easy way out, rather than taking time to identify the specific elements of what was done right or what could have been improved? In my opinion, one specific example is worth ten pats on the back.
Consider the items above. How many are a part of your empowerment quiver? What items would you add to this list? Send me an email. I’d love to know. So would my other readers.