You might be surprised how many manager feel concerned when they need to leave their business - you see they have fallen short in being able to empower their employees to cope without them. And that's a problem...
When a manager feels unable to be away from their business, because they do not have capable people in place, it must be a very frustrating experience.
Letting Go Through Empowering Your People
Many managers have worked their way up in an organization and feel a close relationship with being in the thick of the work.
They feel that if they don't keep on with the 'doing' they will be falling down on their job somehow - or maybe that their people will regard them as slacking in some way!
So they find it hard to not do the whole job, despite having people around them who would willingly do a bit more.
Empowerment Improves Productivity - A Lot!
Some employees enjoy being able to say, "call back on Monday", or "I can't make that decision, you need to speak with the manager".
They shy away from making decisions they aren't regularly called to make.
If a manager makes all the top decisions and involves his people as a minimum, they will do as they're told, collect their regular salary slip and do only what's asked of them.
It's The Manager's Fault!
It's easy for a manager to let this happen.
Studies have found that managers can be more effective if they allow their employees to act on any decisions, as if they are the managers in charge at that moment.
Most decisions that are to be made, when the customer is in your face, demand immediate resolution.
Delighting Customers With Employee Empowerment!
Customers like to have their problems fixed by the first person they approach. Having an employee call for the manager only causes irritation and frustration.
Or worse, it's a way of passing the blame for the issue in question onto a manager, both by the employee and then the customer.
Managers facing such an intervention are more likely to have annoyed customers to face, which is not much fun for anyone.
Capable Employees Are Good For managers
The truth is, a manager is only as good as the power they give their employees.
By giving employees the capacity to act on the manager's behalf they will benefit incredibly with that level of trust.
And when a manager says, 'Look, do your best and I'll always support you', they will take risks at just the right level for them.
Any manager with that sort of team ethic will benefit hugely from the freedom that comes as a result.
Empowerment Is Good For All
Of course, when a manager has been used to keeping every tricky decision to themselves, it's a bit of a fear to let things go - and it can be one of the best things they can learn to do.
Their people start to feel that they are contributing more fully and, perhaps most importantly, recognize that they can personally make a difference to the success of the organization.
This is the principle of management development through empowerment.
The Difference Empowerment Makes
Any manager who develops the way they empower their people will be pleasantly fascinated at how they see individuals develop as part of the team output.
They begin to reach a level of management development that all managers should desire-a staff that can exist without them.
Leadership And Development Jobs
High potential leaders, the ones headed for the C-suite, are important. But they aren't the only leaders in your shop. And if you build your leadership development program only around their needs you risk running your ship of commerce aground on the rocks of failure.
There are five groups of leaders in your company who should get your attention. The high potential leaders are only one of those groups.
I call the high potential leaders "Strivers." Their career is structured around increasing responsibility as they make their way to the top of the organizational chart.
Strivers require close attention to their development. They need lots of development assignments, both permanent and temporary, and they need lots of feedback and support. In addition to being the group headed for the C-suite, they also seem to be the group most likely to leave for a better opportunity.
Sustainers are the leaders all over your organization who make sure the day to day work gets done. Some of them started out as Strivers, but decided that they didn't want that sort of career for one reason or another.
Many Sustainers are people in love with their specialty, whether marketing or IT or HR or plant management. They are also often influential and insightful mentors for other leaders, including many Strivers.
Sustainers need feedback and support for their leadership work. They often need development opportunities in their technical fields. Maybe most important in today's world, they need to know how important they are to your company and its results. They need to know that it's not just the Strivers who count.
Along the career path some leaders want to take time off. I call them Sabbaticals and I think we'll see more of them in the future.
Some Sabbaticals take time off for family reasons, like Brenda Barnes. But we need to find ways for talented leaders, Strivers or Sustainers, to take time off for personal development without having to start over when they return to the workplace.
There are models to explore in the classical academic sabbatical year. But the military also offers us examples of rising leaders assigned, as their job, to return to school for a degree or for special learning or to undertake a special development project.
The truly forgotten leaders in most companies are the ones I call Sergeants. Sergeants are the first line leaders, often without degrees, who supervise front line workers in call centers, on shop floors and out in the field. Many supervise craft workers from whose ranks they were promoted.
Sergeants need training in the skills they need for the supervisory parts of their jobs. They know the technical stuff, but they rarely get supervisory skills training and are often put in the uncomfortable and failure-prone position of supervising the people they've worked with for years while they're also transitioning to a new role. Sergeants also need what all leaders need: support and feedback.
If you're counting you'll notice that I promised you five groups and so far there are only four. The fifth group are what I call "Sneakers."
I call them Sneakers because you can't polish them. There are a variety of reasons that they can't or won't perform. Some are in positions where they're responsible for a group and are very bad at that work, even though they could be excellent individual contributors.
Some Sneakers are leaders in the wrong place. Re-assignment might save their skills and experience for your company. But some Sneakers can't or won't make the grade anywhere. The reason doesn't matter as much as the fact that you need to let them go so both you and they can do better.
Sneakers need attention and help to determine the right choice for them and you. And they need your honesty and your discipline if they need to be let go.
Strivers, the high potentials, the future C-suite executives, are important to the future of your company. But so are the Sustainers, Sabbaticals, Sergeants, and even the Sneakers. Strivers get the press and the praise, but it's the Sustainers and Sergeants the do the day to day work of the place. It's the Sabbaticals who may come back with breakthrough ideas or renewed vigor. And the Sneakers need help figuring out where they fit.
The future of leadership development will need to pay attention to all these groups. And it needs to start today.
Both Mp Haworth & Wally Bock are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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