Do you know what Empowerment really means? 

“Empowerment” gets thrown around quite frequently. I believe it’s one of those words that can have really different meanings depending on the mindset and intent of the sender and the receiver. I’m not going to get into semantics here –  regarding empowerment vs. delegation.   

Briefly, I believe that delegation is assigning tasks and responsibilities to others. Think “distributing”. 

Empowerment is broader. It’s giving people the authority to make independent decisions and feel they can take action as they see fit.  Think “opposite of micromanagement”. 

NOW … beyond the definitions. 

Empowerment in the workplace can be tricky. 

The leader/manager has to be comfortable in their own skin to give up some control. 
They need to have a moderately trusting personality. 

Then, they have to get out of the way, but can watch from afar.
The follower will need to feel that the leader is really committed to the empowerment.
Even so, I see cautious baby steps to test this.
It always helps when the follower has a good idea of “the scorecard in the manager’s head”. Wise followers will keep the leader informed of their progress and future plans. (Think Blanchard S4).
Conditions to consider in empowerment are the follower’s readiness, knowledge in that domain, etc. 

I have found it best when the leader is clear in her/his performance expectations. 
There may need to be some boundaries in the empowerment (safety, policy, political) that should be discussed and agreed to. 

Many benefits can come from empowerment. 

But it has to be done right. 

I’d love to hear your stories of empowerment done well … as well as done poorly.