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Empowerment is more than giving people additional responsibility - to be empowered, people need to feel empowered.When people think of employee empowerment they tend to think of giving employees more responsibility and decision-making authority. To empower an employee, I give them more power - and this is true, but it’s only one dimension of employee empowerment. The critical piece of the puzzle that is often overlooked is the feeling of empowerment. Numerous studies over the past two decades have found that the feeling of empowerment leads to increased employee productivity and effectiveness4,12 along with a host of other benefits, including higher job satisfaction1 and reduced turnover intentions8,4. One study even found that leaders who reported higher levels of empowerment were seen by their employees as more innovative and inspirational10! The really interesting thing about all of this, is that giving employees more authority and responsibility does not necessarily lead to feelings of empowerment. In some cases, it does just the opposite. The two dimensions of empowermentLets take a closer look at the two dimensions of empowerment and how they work... 1. The sharing of power Known as social-structural empowerment, this is generally what people are referring to when they talk about empowerment. It involves giving employees more responsibility, more control over their work, and more authority to make decisions. The general idea here is that by empowering the lower levels of the organisation to make decisions, it reduces red tape and bureaucracy and enables decisions to be made more quickly. It also frees up time for upper management to think about how to move the organisation forward rather than being bogged down with routine operational issues. 2. The feeling of empowerment Known as psychological empowerment, this refers to how an individual feels rather than the level of responsibility or autonomy they actually have. You must feel empowered to be empowered. And it's this feeling of empowerment that leads to all the good stuff. Psychological empowerment is made up of four dimensions. For an individual to feel truly empowered, all four of these dimensions must be present. If one is missing, the feeling of empowerment will be limited9:
So, as you see, giving employees more power does not necessarily empower them. It does in the sense that they have more actual power, but it doesn’t guarantee they will feel empowered. In fact, large amounts of responsibility can be disempowering if employees lack the confidence to handle it13. Benefits of feeling empoweredAs we touched on earlier, the benefits of feeling empowered are huge. Studies have shown that when employees feel empowered it results in:
Strategies for empowering your people1. Open flow of informationIt's important that your people are provided with adequate information about how their performance affects team and organisational performance (e.g. output, financial performance, customer feedback) so they understand the impact they have3. Downward communication
Upward communication
2. Empowering leadership behavioursA supportive, trusting relationship with one’s leader is an important factor in empowerment12. Leaders need to involve, coach, support and communicate openly with their employees12. Poor leader behaviour can negatively impact an employee’s feelings of meaning, competence, autonomy and impact. Participative decision making
Open communication
Coaching and feedback
Showing concern
Transparency
Closing thoughtsThe research is clear; feeling empowered drives better results. By focusing on good leadership practices and increasing organisational transparency, you can engender feelings of empowerment in your employees and reap the performance benefits. References: Article is built on the following research
What is employee empowerment?Employee empowerment is defined as the ways in which organizations provide their employees with a certain degree of autonomy and control in their day-to-day activities.
How would you increase the empowerment level of employees?10 ways to boost empowerment in the workplace. Delegate work and responsibility. ... . Set clear boundaries and expectations. ... . Ensure employees have proper resources. ... . Be flexible. ... . Focus on the end results, not the process. ... . Include employees in special projects. ... . Be open to input and innovation.. What is an example of employee empowerment?One of the most basic employee empowerment examples is simply giving employees a voice in important decisions that could affect them. According to one study, 74% of managers surveyed felt that employee input was “very” or “somewhat” effective at improving decision-making processes.
What do you mean by empowerment?What do we mean by empowerment? Empowerment means people having power and control over their own lives. People get the support they need that is right for them.
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