A520.5.3.RB_RuggerioSteven

Developing and Empowering Employees

In Developing the Leaders Around You, John Maxwell (1995) said, “Great leaders produce other great leaders” (p. 3).  He explained his point further with, “An organizations growth potential is directly related to its personnel potential.  In short, a company cannot grow without until its leaders grow within” (p. 4).  Forrester (2002) believes one of the best ways to grow employees into leaders is through the oft-misunderstood management practice commonly known as empowerment.  

Forrester identified six strategies that aid leaders in enlisting the power of employees more effectively:

1.                    Enlarge power, by building knowledge, skills, and competence alongside increased discretion

2.                    Be clear how much you want to extend employees’ power, the extent you are prepared to extend their power, how you plan to fund it, and the appetite within the company for empowerment initiatives

3.                    Differentiate among employees

4.                    Support power sharers

5.                    Build closely aligned management systems

6.                    Focus on results

These six strategies focus on empowering and equipping an organization’s workforce more effectively.  Correctly managed, these initiatives will both develop employees and increase productivity.  Empowerment is more than a position; it’s an opportunity.

Whetten & Cameron (2011) explained that empowerment “enables people to develop a sense of confidence; it helps people overcome feelings of powerlessness or helplessness; and it acts as a means to energize people to take action and mobilize intrinsic motivation to accomplish a task” (p. 445).  In today’s fluid and sometimes-chaotic business atmosphere of rapid technological change and cutthroat competitiveness, managers risk burnout and an organizations rapid decline if leaders fail to empower and equip employees.

The days of withholding information and power from employees as a means of control are over.  Rather, as Whetten & Cameron (2011) clearly point out, “Evidence shows that empowered employees are more productive, more satisfied, and more innovative, and that they create higher-quality products and services than unempowered employees” (p. 443).  To achieve these ends, they identified five dimensions, or benefits, of empowerment that relate to Forrester’s six strategies above: self-efficacy (competence), self-determination (choice), personal consequence (impact), meaningfulness (value), and trust (security).  These dimensions specifically and measurably strengthen and develop an organization’s most precious resource: its people.

John Maxwell (1995) said, “You can’t turn people loose without structure, but you also want to give them enough freedom to be creative.  The way to do that is to give them the big three: responsibility, authority, and accountability” (p. 98).  Both Forrester’s strategies above and Whetten & Cameron’s five dimensions for empowerment echo the big three and confirm the importance of manager-employee communication. 

Whether it’s Maxwell’s big three, Whetten & Cameron’s five dimensions and nine prescriptions, or Forrester’s six strategies, each underline three common threads inherent in empowerment programs: responsibility, resources, and results.  First, everyone wants to believe that his or her efforts are personally making a difference in society in one way or another.  Whetten & Cameron (2011) call this, “personal consequence” or impact.  They said, “Empowered people have a sense that when they act, they can produce a result.  It is the conviction that through one’s own action, a person can influence what happens” (p. 449).  Forrester highlights the importance of building an employees’ power by increasing their abilities and skills.  Developing employee’s skill and demonstrating their impact with responsibility provides them with the personal motivation that produces positive results.

Once employees are empowered with responsibility, they must be given the resources to function effectively and efficiently.  Resources consist of the tools and techniques necessary to follow-through on assignments.  Some examples include, funding, information, special equipment, the latest technology, and most importantly, the authority commensurate with their responsibility.  Too often employees are set-up to fail because managers did not provide them with the authority to make decisions and enlist others to achieve the task.  Finally, another critical resource is to understand the boundaries and limits of their empowerment.  Working under or stepping over boundaries has the potential to doom a project before it has a chance to begin as well.  Whetten & Cameron (2011) said, “No empowerment can occur without employees knowing what these boundaries are” (p. 466).

The final element of empowerment as identified by Forrester, Whetten, Cameron, and Maxwell as results.  When it comes to empowerment, both the organization and the front line supervisors are stepping out in faith and trusting the employees will produce as good or better results.  One of the key motivations behind producing good results is accountability.  I have heard is said, “You get what you inspect, not what you expect.”  Either way, accountability does not have to entail looking over an employee’s shoulder throughout the process; however, regular and consistent follow-ups and feedback sessions are critical to the empowerment process. 

The results element of empowerment is often defined in terms of the organization’s bottom line.  While that is true, I believe there is another aspect of results that cannot be overlooked: the employee’s personal growth as a leader.  Managers should not judge the effectiveness of an empowerment program solely on profits; but rather, the people.  John Maxwell (1995) surveyed hundreds of leaders and identified empowerment as the characteristic that adds the greatest value to leaders.  He said:

“Motivation, believing in, mentoring, and all the other traits tap into what is inside the person.  Empowerment adds a new dimension to the person that did not and often cannot exist or come into existence on its own…There is a great responsibility with the gift of empowerment.  With the wrong motives a leader can empower for his/her own good rather than the good of the people and the organization.  Great leaders always put the organization and individual people before himself” (p. 178).

Whetten & Cameron (2011) said it best when they summarized their view of empowerment and delegation.  “Strong leaders are not lone rangers so much as they are savvy individuals who know how to mobilize those they lead and manage” (p. 472).  Empowerment is the bridge that makes great leadership happen.

Steve

References:

Forrester, R. (2002). Empowerment: Rejuvenating a potent idea. Measuring Business Excellence, 6(2), 68. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/208740450?accountid=27203

Maxwell, J. (1995). Developing the leaders around you. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Whetten, D.A., & Cameron, K.S. (2011). Developing management skills. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

A520.2.6.RB_RuggerioSteven

Time Management

“One of the greatest reasons people cannot mobilize themselves is that they try to accomplish great things. Most worthwhile achievements are the result of many little things done in a single direction.” 

– Nido Quebin.

Many people wear busyness like a badge of honor; each trying to one-up the next person on how full their schedules are.  I know that feeling cause I’ve worn that badge.  I’ve flashed it like a western sheriff pulling back his lapel.  After experiencing burnout a handful of times in my life, you would think I learned my lesson.  Not so much.  I complain, rub my head, vent a little frustration, and jump right back in.  I must be a glutton for punishment. 

Three years ago I left our last church after a decade of nonstop events, ministries, counseling, outreaches, sermon preparations, men’s groups, couple’s groups, father/son activities, and leadership seminars.  It was nearing Easter when I met with the pastor and told him I was leaving.  Interestingly, he mentioned that another pastor had told him, “You are burning Steve out. If you’re not careful, you’re going to lose him.”  Thing is, I’m an adult.  It isn’t his responsibility to ensure my work/ministry/family balance is in order.  It’s mine.  I took responsibility and then took some much-needed time off.

Less than one month later, we visited another church.  Wouldn’t you know, within sixty-days, I was right back in full ministry swing running retreats, promoting men’s groups, meeting with people, working with marriages, and planning leadership development opportunities.  My wife said, “Are you unable to just sit back and relax?  Why are you always in the middle of everything that goes on?”  Great question.  I don’t have a good answer short of, “I love the excitement and the challenge.”

I’m a gifted multi-tasker that approaches everything with passion and excitement.  Over the past two-to-three years, I’ve learned to better manage my time and more importantly, the value of saying “no.”  Entering the graduate MSLD program, I knew I would have to cut some activities and events from my schedule to leave time for reading, studying, and writing.  Fortunately, that has happened and although my schedule is still quite full, I’ve learned the value of quiet time and recreational time with family and friends.

The Time Management Assessment places me in the top quartile (110).  Of the twenty rules for efficient time management, there were a few that confirmed and strengthened my position as an “internal” and helps me take advantage of the time I have every day.  First, I make a list each morning of the things I would like to accomplish that day.  Things that I miss are moved onto the next day’s to-do list and circled.  I keep a Note Post-it with a list of to-dos with me all week.  Each day I review it for status.  Secondly, I am extremely well organized.  My desk is neat and short of diagnosed OCD behaviors, everything has a place and rarely am I left frantically looking for paperwork.  And thirdly, I prioritize my tasks well.  I understand what is urgent and what is important.  I do not allow the urgent issues of life to edge-out the important.

To minimize stress in my life through effective and efficient time management skills, I’ve identified three new ways to keep me focused and on task.  First, schedule personal time.  While I would like to spend a minimum of thirty minutes in the morning, my best time is when I arrive home from work.  My wife gives me time as soon as I get home to relax and do what I enjoy the most: read.  As soon as I get home, I spend time reading various leadership, self-improvement, or Christian books.  This allows me to wind down from the day and it helps me gain focus on what I’ve accomplished during the week and how I plan on spending the following day.

Secondly, thanks to cell phones, I do something productive while waiting.  Whether in line at the bank, sitting at a red light, or waiting in the car for my wife, I am reading and studying.  I was not always intentional with my personal growth and I believe I squandered a couple decades early on.  Therefore, I live with a passion to make use of every second that I have.  It motivates me to read, love, and live fully in every moment. 

And lastly, I have opened myself up to accountability.  There are a handful of close people in my life who know exactly what my schedule looks like. And, unlike three years ago, these men will ask me what my schedule looks like, what can I cut, and how much time have I been spending with my family?  Even though I am consciously aware of my schedule and my time, there are men in my life that keep me accountable to my commitments.  There are times when I feel myself accepting another task, an event, or a ministry and they will step in and shut it down before I agree to tackle it.  All good things are not great things.

Going forward I know there are still areas that I need to improve upon.  For starters, here are a few: Go to bed earlier.  My wife and I are night owls.  We stay up too late and struggle in the morning.  Jerry Seinfeld said, “Night guy always screws morning guy.”  We laugh because it is true! If I ever hope to increase efficiency in my work/ministry production, I must ensure that I am getting at least seven hours of sleep each night.  The current six hours has exposed me to a decreased immune system and early morning dullness.

Secondly, by identifying my core values and mission statement, I will be better aware of the “good” things that I must turn down to save room and energy for the “great” things.  In the past, because I was involved in so many different activities, I was doing them all functionally but not professionally.  By cutting some of the superfluous activities, I will be able to invest more energy into a few things and make them even better.  Moreover, it will allow others to step up and lead.  I’ve recently done this with the bimonthly men’s group.  While I may oversee the 25-35 men that come on Saturday, I’ve created a small leadership team to lead the messages and work set-up. This has freed me to concentrate more on leadership development.

And lastly, I am making a list of my current activities and commitments.  By writing them down (and giving copies to my accountability partners), I can clearly see where my energies should be focused.  There are a multitude of needs and expectations that surround us.  They swirl around us at work, at church, and at home.  By clearly identifying and prioritizing my commitments, I will avoid overextending myself and letting others down. 

I spoke at a funeral last week.  I stood before the congregation and looked in the faces of those wondering, “How much time do I have?” I told them I could not answer that question.  However, what I do know is every person has right now.  I said, “You have today. This moment. You will never have another like it.”  

I left them with this: “Death has the potential to awaken life.  It reminds us to not waste what we’ve been given. Live every moment to the fullest and you will not end up at the end of your life with any regrets.” That's the best time management advice there is.

Steve