3 Keys to Empowerment: An Action Guide Book

"Empowerment" is one of those business management buzzwords that either generates excitement or disinterest. Blanchard, Carlos and Randolph fall into the former category, but they seem to sympathise with those whose eyes glaze over. Following up their 1996 management book, Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute, The 3 Keys to Empowerment, explains the concrete steps managers can take to fully empower their employees. It starts with information, which managers should share in massive quantities with employees at the start of the empowerment process. The second step is setting up parameters that everyone understands: what employees can and should do and what actions and decisions will continue to be made by senior management. The third is to develop teams to eventually replace the old hierarchical structure. All of this takes time and the authors point out that team members go through steep learning curves, starting out highly motivated but lacking competence, and quickly lose motivation when they realise how difficult the transition is going to be. Competence and motivation eventually rise, but managers still need to manage differently at each stage of the employees' development. None of this is particularly intuitive and none of it happens fast. But the rewards, the authors say, include more tuned-in employees, less turnover and ultimately, a wealth of brainpower at the company's disposal. --Lou Schuler, Amazon.comRead More