Empowerment

Why Should Leaders Share Power?

The ability to speed up certain processes by allowing decisions to be made at hierarchically lower levels can have some distinct advantages for staff, organizations, and leaders.

Greater education, capabilities, and expectations of staff. As the education levels of staff rise, options for empowerment increase. Research indicates that most leaders will not delegate to incompetent staff, nor would their organizations want them to. But many leadership theories have suggested that talented and motivated staff members do not require the same kinds of leadership guidance as unskilled and uninterested staff, and, in fact, respond negatively to too much leadership structure as “micromanagement.” Having professional staff substitutes for the need to have a structuring leader, and such staff often expect to be empowered to act within the bounds of their skills. Leaders who fail to empower skilled staff risk losing their talents, motivation, and commitment.

Increase in knowledge and service sector employment. As the U.S. economy increasingly depends on the expanding knowledge and service sectors, empowerment becomes even more vital. Knowledge and information demands require the involvement and commitment of all staff members, not just leaders. Service quality occurs at the point of service contact, where the customer or client interacts with staff. The inability of staff to satisfy customer demands promptly and without “checking with a manager” yields customer dissatisfaction and the potential loss of return business. Empowering staff within predetermined limits allows them maximum flexibility to provide a satisfying customer experience.

Freedom for the leader to focus on broader strategic issues rather than primarily day-to-day management. Although leaders are often wary of sharing power, in fact it is the primary way that they can expand their own ability to focus on how to really add value to their organizations. Freed from a myriad of timeconsuming actions now under staff oversight, the [Page 435]leader can focus more on strategic vision, on new and creative business options and prospects, and on expanding their client base and profit margins. They must also focus on coaching and developing staff to succeed in their newly empowered roles.

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