The Manager's Pocket Guide to Leadership Skills

Empowering People

By definition, empowerment means to give another person the authority and power to act. This means that the employees who work for you actually have the ability to get things done themselves. The opposite of empowerment is “micro-management.” When we “micro-manage,” we oversee every action and decision our employee makes.

To empower your staff, you must understand that power is not “zero-sum” based. Zero sum means that there is only a certain amount of power to go around, and if I give up power, I lose, and someone else gains. Thus, if I gain power, then you lose power.

The problem with seeing power as a finite source is that you spend your time and energy protecting what power you do have. This is time that could be more productively ...