Access Webinar now: Fire your boss and get a life

The word “empowerment” is thrown around a lot. But how many people truly feel, and are, empowered, in their work, or their daily lives?

At Enavate, we are committed to true empowerment, because we recognize that this can be one of the most powerful and effective tools to allow employees, and companies, to thrive and to realize their greatest success.

In our organization, empowerment means team members have more information, more responsibility – and the opportunity for greater reward. In other words, each team member is personally invested in our success.

But achieving empowerment requires more than merely announcing that everyone will be empowered. It is a process, a collective journey. In my Jan. 28 AXUG webinar, “Fire Your Boss and Get a Life,” I shared details we’ve learned over the course of our journey. Those lessons include learning that to be successful, empowerment requires planning, patience and understanding of these three keys:

That can happen, of course.

But as leaders, we simply cannot ask people to take ownership of their work and of the company’s success without giving them the tools they need to do that. And when you share information with team members, something extraordinary will happen: We build trust. We are saying to them, “I trust you not to share this, and I trust your judgement enough that I want to empower you to have a voice in our company’s decisions and its future.”

Teams Become the Hierarchy. One empowered person can accomplish a great deal. But an empowered team, which has a shared goal and a common purpose, and knows how to work cohesively, can be an unstoppable force that propels your organization to success.

Creating Autonomy Through Boundaries: If decision-making is new to your team members, it’s important to create boundaries for them, so they can understand what decisions they can make and which they cannot.

Pods represent a new way of thinking about how to better organize your business to empower everyone on your team.

Most companies today still operate under a top-down hierarchy, with employees answering to a boss who reports to a manager who reports to a vice president who reports to a CEO. Today’s firms are more efficient, and more successful, when employees feel invested in the mission and the work. That’s empowerment. And the best model for achieving empowerment is a self-directed team that is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the company and the customer. In other words, a pod.

Empowerment is an ongoing process, and one that requires commitment. But working with team members who feel empowered and trusted – and invested in your company and its success – make the effort more than worthwhile.

Watch my presentation now: