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It’s amazing how many managers feel that they just cannot be absent from their workplace because they are ‘irreplaceable’. By empowering their employees, much more is possible…

It must be very wearing for managers to feel that they just cannot absent themselves, when they are missing people in place who can do a great job in their absence.

Empowerment - The Holy Grail Of Management

You see, most managers come from the ’shop-floor’ and find it difficult to let go of that role.

This is an insecurity issue - they feel their job is threatened if they are not the one making the call.

So they find it hard to not do the whole job, despite having people around them who would willingly do a bit more.

Empowerment Improves Productivity - A Lot!

Where there are a bunch of employees who are not able to contribute fully because a manager hasn’t been able to ‘let go’ enough, they almost wilfully step back when they could get more involved.

That’s because it postpones a decision to make the customer satisfied at the moment, and may involve more work on the employee’s part, thinking out a solution or a discount maybe.

If a manager makes all the top decisions and involves his people as a minimum, they will do as they’re told, collect their regular salary slip and do only what’s asked of them.

It’s The Manager’s Fault!

It’s easy for a manager to let this happen.

It’s quite a step to recognize that employees will evolve their capabilities when they have the trust of the manager and are allowed to do more.

In the front line with customers, having the power to solve their problems fast is a particularly valuable asset.

Customers Want Employee Empowerment

The customer is waiting for the “manager isn’t here”, and when he gets it, becomes extremely irritated.

Or worse, it’s a way of passing the blame for the issue in question onto a manager, both by the employee and then the customer.

It’s a no-win situation for a manager that wants to portray that they are in control.

A Manager’s Strength Is His Team

Look, managers are not perfect in every way - they cannot fix everything in their business on their own; it’s their ability to get the most from their people that makes the difference.

For example, if you let your employees know that you expect them to make a reasonable decision in your absence, let them know that they are the manager in control when you are gone.

You will stand behind the logical decisions they make, and then let them know what you might have done different, you are teaching them to become a manager.

Any manager with that sort of team ethic will benefit hugely from the freedom that comes as a result.

What Empowerment Brings

Of course, when a manager has been used to keeping every tricky decision to themselves, it’s a bit of a fear to let things go - and it can be one of the best things they can learn to do.

Individuals start to flower in their abilities and become the swan to the ugly duckling of the past. - producing results even beyond their own imagination.

It’s a truly exciting step to take when a manager decides to take a route to fully empower their people.

Any Manager Will Value Empowerment Skills

Any manager who develops the way they empower their people will be pleasantly fascinated at how they see individuals develop as part of the team output.

By freeing him or herself up by using the latent abilities of their people, an empowering manager truly lives and breathes the experience - and that’s pow