To Empower or Not To Empower?

     That is the question. As leaders we have been given authority and we have authority to give. So how do we do that? What is authority? When do we give authority? And how does that relate to empowering someone?
     I have recently found myself in a position where I needed to self evaluate. You see, I have been under the impression that I empower everyone around me? I know in my heart that I want those who report to me to have the freedom to manage and more importantly lead their departments. I know in my heart that I want them to grow as leaders and have everything they need to be successful. Question is, does what is in my heart translate to what is received by my direct reports? Not always…
     I had the value of receiving great feedback from a colleague that helped me see that my actions may have been received differently than I intended them to. My actions (in my mind) where intended to help my direct reports by providing ideas, processes, and offering my opinions during their meetings. Seems innocent enough doesn’t it? But what if by these good intentioned actions I was negatively impacting my team?
     Let’s look at the definition of empower. Merriam-Webster’s definition is: 1.To give official authority or legal power, or, 2. Enable. What I realized is that when I make suggestions and recommendations as to how something should be done I have not fully given the “official authority” over that task or objective. In actuality what I am doing is providing authority only over the execution of that task or objective. There may be times where this level of structure is needed; inexperienced leaders or underperforming leaders, but not when you have a quality team that you truly want to empower.
     Here are the principles to focus on. First, set the expectation and the vision—not the how! Second, give your team the freedom to explore ways of meeting those expectations themselves. The benefits of this freedom are many such as growth of the leader, identifying better ways of doing something that you may not be aware of, credibility in the eyes of their direct reports, increased job satisfaction of the empowered leader, etc. Third, realize that their increased authority does not minimize your authority. Fourth, be there to support your team when they ask for help.
     As leaders we must have the ability to look at ourselves and have the courage to receive feedback that has the power to make us better leaders. I learned that what I thought I was doing; I can do a whole lot better. And the only way to know for sure if our intentions are reality—is to ask.