Empowerment

Chapter 8Empowerment and

DelegationKristopher Blanchard

North Central University

Learning Objectives

• Distinguish between delegation & empowerment

• Utilize principles of effective delegation

• Develop and execute plans to empower others

Delegating Work

• Refers to the assignment of a task - It is work focused

• It is not turning over work that the manager dislikes

• Empowerment is focused on the individual

• Increases productivity and the organization’s ability to achieve goals

Formal structural dimensions: Control to Facilitating/support

– Assignment of duties and responsibilities: Narrowly to broadly defined

– Delegation of formal authority: Limited (centralization) to extensive (decentralization)

– Constraints: Extensive (implementation within narrowly defined policies, procedures and rules) to limited (discretion in decision making and implementation)

– Resource support: Rigidly limited to broadly available

Organizational culture: Custodial vs. entrepreneurial

– Sustain status quo & avoid risk to press development & accept risk

– Downward initiative process vs. upward initiative process

– Theory X vs. theory Y axioms broadly defused in the organization

Advantages of Delegation

• Increases manager’s discretionary time

• Develops subordinate capabilities

• Demonstrates confidence in delegates

• Enhances commitment of delegates

• Improves decision making

• Increases efficiency

Delegation

Things to consider when delegating:• Qualifications of subordinate• Necessity of employee commitment• Expansion of employee capabilities• Evidence of shared values and

perspectives• Sufficient time for delegation

Principles of Effective Delegation

Deciding when:•Subordinates have needed information•Commitment is crucial•Common values are shared•Sufficient time is available•Subordinates capabilities will be expanded

Deciding to whom:•Involve no one•Consult with other individuals, but decide alone•Consult with a team but decide alone•Let the team decide•Participate as a member of the team

Deciding how:•Begin with the end in mind•Delegate completely•Allow for participation•Match authority with responsibility•Work within the structure•Provide support•Focus accountability on results•Delegate consistently•Avoid upward delegation •Clarify consequences

Effective outcomes of delegation:•Readily acceptable assignments•High morale and motivation•Organizational coordination and efficiency•Increased problem solving abilities•More discretionary time for managers•Stronger interpersonal relationships•Successful task completion

Guidelines for Effective Delegation

• Begin with the end in mind

• Delegate broadly

• Allow participation in delegation

• Work toward parity between authority and responsibility

• Work within the organizational structure

Guidelines for Effective Delegation (cont.)

• Provide adequate support

• Focus accountability on results

• Delegate consistently

• Avoid upward delegation

• Clarify consequences of tasks, especially rewards

Delegate broadly

• Wait to be told what to do – least delegation & empowering

• Ask what to do – delegation & empowerment is constrained

• Recommend then take action – more delegation & empowerment over time and content

• Act, then report immediately• Initiate action and report routinely – highest level

of delegation & empowerment

Return

Support Participation in Delegation

• Subordinates are given an opportunity to negotiate the roles (degree of acceptance of delegation)

• Subordinates should feel free to express ideas about the parameters of the work

• Managers should be available for consultation during the assignment on an exceptions basis

Return

Establish Parity Between Authority and Responsibility

• Delegate the authority along with the responsibility

• Ultimate accountability – cannot be delegated but can be shared with the manager

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Work within the Organizational Structure

• Delegate through subordinates not around them in the chain-of-command

• Establish the norm of delegation to the lowest level of the organization

• Everyone affected by the decision to delegate should be informed.

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Provide Adequate Support

• Provide relevant information

• Provide necessary resources to accomplish the task

• Give credit for the task publicly

• When errors are made, focus on the ;problem, not individuals.

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Focus Accountability on Results

• Specify the goal not preferred methods

• Do not micromanage

• Support subordinates in the choice of their own methods to accomplish results

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Delegate Consistently

• Primary reason to assigning responsibilities & authority is to empower employees

• Assign both the pleasant and unpleasant tasks

• Delegate continuously, not just when overworked

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Avoid Upward Delegation

• Occurs when the subordinate asks for help

• Manager says “Let me think about it; I’ll get back to you later.”

• Manager now has to follow up with the employee

• Manager signals upward delegation is OK

Return

Empowerment—A psychological perspective

• Empowerment enables other people to act: it leaves them feeling strong, capable, and committed– “Get work done through other people”– Broad participation and accountability– Involvement in decision making– Flexible response

Five Core Dimensions of Empowerment

• Self-efficacy• Self-determination • Personal conseque

nces • Meaningfulness • Trust

Buy-in of supervision & operating personnel: Limited to extensive

– Self efficacy: Limited to Extensive– Self determination: Limited to Extensive– Personal control: Limited to Extensive– Meaningfulness: Limited to Extensive– Trust in management: Limited to Extensive– Growth orientation: Limited to Extensive

Self-Efficacy

• A sense of personal competence

• Belief that they have the ability to perform the task

• Belief that they are capable of putting forth the effort

• Belief that no outside obstacles will prevent them from accomplishing the task

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Self-determination

• A sense of personal choice

• Choices about the methods used to accomplish a task

• Choices about the effort to be expended

• Choices about the pace of the work

• Choices about the time frame

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Personal consequences

• Sense of having impact

• Feeling of active control – brings the environment into alignment with wishes

• Feeling of passive control – whishes are brought into alignment with the environment

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Meaningfulness

• Sense of value in the activity

• Value the purpose or goals of the activity

• It ‘counts’ in the individual’s value system

• Creates a sense of purpose, passion, or mission

• This is not the same as personal benefit

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• Sense of security

• Feeling that they will be treated fairly and equitably

• Encourages the development of relationships

• Allows people to act in a confident and straightforward manner

Return

Relationship Between Dimensions and Prescriptions for Empowerment

Self-Efficacy (competence)

Self-Determination (choice)

Personal Consequence(impact)

Trust (security)

Meaningfulness (value)

Vision and Values

Personal Mastery Experiences

Provide Resources

Provide Information

Provide Support

Emotional Arousal

Connect to Outcomes

Create Confidence

Leadership processes: Passive to Active

– Vision & values: Defuse to clearly defined– Personal mastery experiences: Limited to incrementally scaled

(small wins)– Modeling: Limited ideal models vs. broad modeling of desired

behavior– Support: Limited to extensive (both psychologically &

institutionally)– Emotional arousal: Passive to active (systematically addressed)– Information: Limited (need to know) to extensive (broad

accessibility) – Resources: Constrained and rigid to broadly available & flexible– Connection to outcomes: Limited feedback to broad scale

feedback on consequences– Confidence: Limited generation to broad generation

Behavioral Guidelines

• Articulate a clear vision and goals for others

• Foster personal mastery experiences

• Successfully model the behaviors you want others to achieve

• Provide needed support to other people

• Arouse positive emotions among others

• Provide information needed by others to accomplish their work

Begin with the end in mind

• Clearly articulate the desired results

• Explain why the task is important

• Point out the personal benefits

• Connection to the organization mission

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Articulate a Clear Vision and Goals

• Specific• Measurable• Aligned• Realistic/Reachable• Time-bound

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Supportive steps

• Provide resources needed for others to accomplish their work

• Connect others’ work to outcomes and effects

• Create confidence among others

• Follow the delegation model

Create confidence

• Reliability – consistent, dependable, and stable

• Fairness – standards are clear and enforced consistently

• Caring – show concern for the workers• Openness – no harmful secrets exist• Competence

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Clarify Consequences of Tasks Especially Rewards

• Subordinates are usually more motivated if the consequences and rewards are clearly identified.

Return

Dynamics of empowerment

Positive or negative

Structure (degree of delegation & resource support

Development of personnel at each level (ability, experience & education

Relationships: Static to dynamic

Over time, the interdependence between empowerment and ability/experience/education may support a continuous expansion of the interrelationship, or a contraction.

These relationships may move to an equilibrium over time (less and less influence each cycle),

Or continuous expansion of influence Result: Implosion (deteriorating performance),

or explosion (an exponential improvement of performance).

Interdependence of empowerment process• The degree that the dynamics of empowerment

creates an increasing higher level performance turns on

• Structure, development of personnel and buy-in of personnel at all levels.

• If there is a lack of buy-in at any level, this potentially brings the process to a halt.

• If performance doesn’t improve over time, the experiment in empowerment is likely to be abandoned.

Simultaneous Adjustments

• The empowerment process requires a simultaneous adjustment– Between higher and middle level management and

staff groups and lower management & operating groups.

– Management & staff groups must shift from a control- directing focus to a supportive- facilitating focus.

– Lower level management & operating groups must move from an implementing within formal constraints focus to exercising decision discretion

– Accept the associated responsibility for success or failure.

One time or episodic reengineering

• Simpler to understand and achieve than a sustained reengineering and continuous dynamic process of empowerment.

• In a static approach, the level of empowerment is shaped by management judgments of the ability and experience of the lower level personnel

• The level of lower level buy-in on the process

Where low levels of empowerment exist

• The judgments are likely to be that lower level personnel have neither the ability, experience nor orientation to accept broader empowerment.

• Initial efforts at empowerment are likely to support this perspective – A transition period is required for employees

to test out the integrity of management– And to explore how they are to utilize the

expanded scope for decisions.

Dynamics of empowerment

• Both the process and end points are unstructured. – As greater empowerment occurs, is accepted, and

personnel develop to meet the new opportunities and demands, this supports further empowerment processes.

– This requires a continuous shift in the roles of management and staff groups as they relax controls, and shift to a supportive, facilitative role.

– It requires on the part of lower level personnel • Continuous growth and development to deal with the

expanded opportunities and discretion • Acceptance of responsibilities for performance.

Frictions in the empowerment process

• Managers that retain a theory X assumptions about personnel,

• Or have difficulty shifting from control to supportive roles

• Operating personnel that are unable to deal with the unstructured environment of continuous redefinition of roles and responsibilities inhibit the empowerment process.

Personnel turnover

• Some degree of personnel turnover is likely to be associated with empowerment.

• These who cannot deal with the demands of empowerment drop out of the system – Either by quitting, transferring or are

terminated. – New employees can be selected who are a

better fit and socialized in the process.

Empowerment

delegation work

delegation subordinates

results copyright c

advantages of delegation

norm of delegation

delegation empowering

consequences copyright

organization copyright

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