Empowerment

EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment is a word that many people know, but not a skill that very many people have been able to master. Since the dawn of time empowerment has been taking place. Empowerment is more prevalent than you may think. People have been hearing people empower others since the day they were born. The doctor probably instructed their mother to push and/or breath, then told her that she could do it, she was strong, doing great, etcÐ'... More then just having other people do something for them, managers use empowerment to entrust their authority in other people.

The purpose of empowerment is much more than just having someone else complete whatever task you are delegating because it is simple and/or time consuming. It is to have the person take responsibility for actions and/decisions and feel as though their opinion and/or work product is more valuable to the team. With some delegations, the delegate(s) has the ability to handle any situation that comes his/her way without having to come back to get further input. This saves time and allows you to focus your attention elsewhere. Lets say for instance someone tells the mechanic that they want your tires replaced every 25,000 miles. What happens when they hit a nail and their tire is destroyed when it was only 10,000 miles since they last got new tires? Would they really want their mechanic to wait another 15,000 miles, or just replace the damaged tire? Most people are not a tire experts, nor are they mechanics. So they empower the mechanic with that responsibility knowing and trusting that he will know what he is doing and not allow them to drive a car with unsafe tires. Now, this example is a little extreme, but it is used to show the simplicity of empowerment in places where they may not have been inclined to acknowledge the fact that it is empowerment.

In order to enable empower somebody, first verify that they know what is wanted, they are able to do it, and have the authority needed to ensure the completion of your requested task. Information also plays a crucial role in fulfilling any task. When someone is empowered with a certain responsibility or task, they need full access/knowledge of the subject at hand. They must also be prepared for any possible outcome and respond in a timely and effective manner. To ensure they have a full understanding of the task at hand, communication must be maintained an open line of communication with said person and make sure that any possible questions they have are answered to their satisfaction is essential. Communication is a key factor to maintaining empowered persons successful for they organization.

To ensure that communication is properly being delivered and received, one must first be confident that they, themselves, are a good/effective communicator. When communicating with an employee, a superior must make sure they are confident, comfortable