The act of giving somebody more control over their own life or the situation they are in
Feeling that we have choices in life is an important social driver, enhancing our sense of autonomy and satisfaction. Being empowered doesn’t mean we can do absolutely anything, but it provides us with the confidence, the motivation and drive to pursue our goals and overcome challenges.
Empowerment has three main components – thoughts, feelings and actions.
Empowerment thoughts include ones like “I can do this” (confidence), “I should do something about this” (initiative) “I need to be listened to” (sense of authority) or “There’s a solution to this, not sure what it is yet…” (confidence bridging uncertainty).
Empowerment feelings include a sense of motivation rather than passivity, enjoyment rather than gloom, and edgy anticipation rather than anxious doubt.
Empowerment actions include: speaking one’s thoughts when they seem to go against the consensus; being the first to do something when a problem or opportunity arises; asking or telling others to do things when it seems that they are passive and waiting for someone else to take action.
There are five steps an organisation (and its leaders) can take to empower its employees
- Be explicit about the policy on the scope of empowerment. It only takes one person punished or humiliated by a boss because they take initiative that doesn’t work out, for a threat culture to be established.
- Tell people clearly that mistakes are inevitable in all empowered decisions. If people are to feel empowered they must not be paralysed by the fear of the consequences of making mistakes. Give them examples of employees who have been empowered, who made good decisions, but you must show that it is also safe to make some mistakes. They must know the limit or scope of the mistakes they are allowed to make.
- Remember that all human behaviour is a balancing act between two sets of brain circuits: the approach circuits of the brain where success and reward are anticipated, past successes remembered, and confident expectation of achieving goals dominates our awareness; contrast this with the avoidance circuits, where the prospect of punishment or failure dominates, actions are not taken because of fear of the consequences, and past failures and punishments are remembered. A healthy individual has a good balance between these opposing neural forces, with a slight advantage for the approach circuits – but not too much – because we need to be risk-aware, cautious also, within limits. Organizations who get the best from their workers need a similar balance.
- Actions speak louder than words. Many can flourish if they are given a little power/control/autonomy: unfortunately, many shrink from it, but it’s hard to tell unless you allow them the opportunity – and be clear, to repeat, that with power comes the license to make mistakes.
- Leaders have to walk the walk – their employees will see clearly whether they are hypocritical or not. Shared values are the greatest source of trust and trust is essential if people are to feel empowered. But values have to be exhibited in action, and talk about values actually has the reverse of an intended effect if it is at odds with the actions of key leaders in the organisation.
By Professor Ian Robertson, Neuroscientist and Academic Partner at the Leadership High
