{"id":462,"date":"2010-10-23T04:54:38","date_gmt":"2010-10-23T04:54:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.renando.com\/blog\/?p=462"},"modified":"2021-01-15T21:50:03","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T21:50:03","slug":"why-are-instructions-for-empowerment-so-disempowering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/2010\/10\/why-are-instructions-for-empowerment-so-disempowering\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are instructions for empowerment so disempowering?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am reading in my studies this week that organisations with empowered staff perform better.\u00a0 We also know the way to disempower a person is to give them 100 tasks they cannot hope to satisfy.\u00a0 So why are we given countless \u201cto-do\u201d lists of ways to empower people?<\/p>\n

\"Empowerment\"<\/p>\n

9,315 things you must do to empower people<\/h2>\n

Characteristics of an empowered workplace include: 1) decision making; 2) performance planning; 3) making policy; 4) taking initiative; 5) defining roles; and 6) setting standards.\u00a0 Robert Cole says five principles of a leader that empower people are: 1) Trust in People; 2) Invest in People; 3) Recognise accomplishments; 4) Decentralise decision making; and 5)View work as a cooperative effort.<\/p>\n

Colin Powell’s rules<\/a> include: 1) Have vision; 2) Be demanding; 3) Check small things; 4) Share credit; 5) Be calm and kind; and 6) Remember that perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.<\/p>\n

Eric Harvey and Alexander Lucia present 144 (yes, 144) things to do to increase leadership effectiveness<\/a>, of which the top 20 are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Adopt an orientation to action and results<\/li>\n
  2. Recognise and reward those who make improvements to products, processes and services<\/li>\n
  3. Be customer-driven<\/li>\n
  4. Maintain a commitment to self-development<\/li>\n
  5. Make timely and value-driven decisions<\/li>\n
  6. Be flexible<\/li>\n
  7. Coach others to succeed<\/li>\n
  8. Schedule a short meeting with each of your direct reports once every two to three weeks<\/li>\n
  9. Minimise obstacles<\/li>\n
  10. Benchmark the best<\/li>\n
  11. Address deficiencies<\/li>\n
  12. Let your conscience be your guide<\/li>\n
  13. Enhance the work environment<\/li>\n
  14. Spread the sparkle<\/li>\n
  15. Display resilience<\/li>\n
  16. Show concern for others<\/li>\n
  17. Spend one-on-one time with each member of your team<\/li>\n
  18. Manage meetings effectively<\/li>\n
  19. Be sure everyone who reports to you has clarity of assignment and tools to succeed<\/li>\n
  20. Communicate effectively<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Be yourself<\/h2>\n

    Is anyone else completely disempowered by all the things we need to do to empower our workplaces? To me, it comes back to something Jack Welch<\/a> says: Be authentic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Leadership principles are born out of the character of the individual. What this week has taught me is that empowerment is just too hard to reverse engineer. It must be from the inside.<\/p>\n

    Rather than doing the things that empower people, be the kind of person that does the things that empowers people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I am reading in my studies this week that organisations with empowered staff perform better.\u00a0 We also know the way to disempower a person is… Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[184,185],"tags":[45,201,99],"ecosystem_role":[],"class_list":["post-462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-organisations","category-about-you","tag-empowerment","tag-leadership","tag-personal-development","bwp-masonry-item","bwp-col-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t