Empowerment
Leader Challenge
Leader Challenge
Today's leader has the almost impossible task of keeping up with ever-changing technology.
Junior Members' Skills
Junior Members' Skills
Today's junior members have knowledge, skills, and abilities that open unlimited opportunities to maximize work center effectiveness.
Encourage Development
Encourage Development
Leaders must encourage Airmen to:
- Develop their capabilities
- Foster their willingness to improve organizational effectiveness
Empowered Followership Joint Effort
Joint Effort
Empowered followership, like motivation, requires a joint effort between leaders and the individuals they lead.
Continuous Promotion
This effort must be continuously promoted.
Best-Served Mission
Best-Served Mission
The mission is best served when the leader:
- Helps followers develop their own initiatives
- Encourages them to use their own judgment
- Allows them to grow
Empowerment Result
Empowerment Result
As a result of promoting empowered followership, creativity and innovativeness improve dramatically.
Empowerment Defined
Empowerment Definition
Empowerment is a force that energizes people and provides:
- Responsibility
- Ownership
- Control over the work they perform
Delegation vs Empowerment
Delegation vs Empowerment
Delegation is NOT empowerment; however, effective empowerment does require good delegation.
Essence of Empowerment
Essence of Empowerment
Assigning tasks and allowing the freedom and authority to creatively accomplish those tasks is the essence of empowerment.
Empowered Stakeholders
Empowered Stakeholders
Empowerment allows workers to become stakeholders in the organization's vision.
Shared Vision
Shared Vision
Once committed to the vision, members participate in shaping and fashioning a shared vision. This synergistically developed vision motivates people to focus on what the future holds:
- NOT simply because they must
- But because they want to
Military Tradition
Military Tradition
The military is traditionally an authoritarian organization.
Hierarchical Necessity
Hierarchical Necessity
The need for rapid decision-making and crisis response normally necessitates a traditional hierarchical framework.
But Hierarchy Can Slow
Hierarchy Can Slow
However, complex hierarchical frameworks do not always result in rapid decisions.
Transformation of Roles
Role Transformation
Furthermore, the continual transformation of leader-follower roles is heralding an environment that allows both leaders and followers to more effectively realize organizational goals and objectives.
Historical Great Leaders
Historical Great Leaders
Historically, truly great leaders of the past never directly told their people how to do their jobs; rather, they:
- Explained what needed to be done
- Established a playing field that allowed their people to achieve success on their own
Mutual Success
Mutual Success
Consequently, the follower's success became a success for the leader and the organization.
Soliciting Input
Soliciting Input
When leaders solicit input, they discover the knowledge, interest, and parameters of support.
Empowerment Enhances Performance
Empowerment Enhances Performance
Empowerment enhances organizational performance by promoting contributions from every member of the organization.
Trust as Cornerstone
Trust = Cornerstone
Trust is the cornerstone of the mutually dependent relationship shared by leaders and followers.
Flexibility + Patience
Flexibility + Patience
Leaders must be flexible and patient in introducing empowerment.
Decisions to Those Closest
Decisions to Those Closest
By delegating decisions to those closest to the issues and by allowing Airmen flexibility in how they implement the vision, the leader successfully allows others to take ownership and experience pride in achieving the vision.
Recognition Key
Recognition Key
Recognition is a key factor in perpetuating improvements.
Empowerment Recognition
Hence, an important facet of empowerment is the appropriate recognition of contributions Airmen make to maximizing mission success.