The New Leadership—From Delegation to Empowerment

By Florence Stone

Today’s organizations demand a change from traditional management in which managers share responsibility through delegation but, generally, still oversee the work done by their staff members. Such management is no longer possible.

Leaner managerial staffs mean managers have too long to-do lists. Many have greater spans of control. Delegation is no longer sufficient to allow them to “manage.” Indeed, they no longer are managers, but rather, they perform as leaders, empowering their staffs to assume greater decision-making roles in the organization.

Today’s successful managers bring their employees into the planning process, tying decisions on department and division level to those made on the senior level. They create an environment in which staff members are free to learn—to make mistakes if they learn from them—and to apply their learning in real-world situations that go beyond the requirements of their job descriptions or their boxes in the organization chart, if one still exists.

Today’s successful leaders/managers bring to their group the vision and values of the organization as a whole, share them with the group, and direct a more focused effort to achieve their corporation’s strategic intent. Some managers may seem threatened by this new management direction. They might worry that they would make themselves dispensable. On the contrary. Sharing power gives them the time to work on critical projects, identify and pursue opportunities for their operation of the organization as a whole and consequently increase their worth. Indispensability may insure that you keep your current position but it also almost guarantees that you never move beyond it.

In order to practice shared management—and become a valuable leader in your organization—there are several core competencies (i.e., skills, abilities, knowledge and attitudes) you need. You need to:

1. Understand any new areas of responsibility and the skills and background of staff members to make the best match of people and assignments. You need a foundation of information if you are to operate your newer, broader span of control productively and effectively through empowerment.

2. Listen actively. This involves listening both to what is said and what isn’t said. Maybe even more important, it means listening to your employees’ opinions and concerns with a willingness to change your own opinion. When you demonstrate active listening, you send signals about your willingness to share leadership.

3. Operate on purpose. There should be a relationship between each task you or a staff member does and the objectives or goals of your department or organization as a whole. In giving any assignments, you need to communicate that relationship. Your employees should have some understanding of how their work will affect individual departments and the company as a whole so they can make the most effective decisions possible on their own.

4. Emphasize growth and opportunity. No matter what the situation, leaders/managers attempt to present their staffs a picture of a glass half-full, not half-empty. They invite employees to join in sharing leadership of a winning organization, one that has room for growth and development. A business leader doesn’t ask staff members to stay aboard a sinking ship.

5. Train employees to think critically. Encourage them to examine the how, why and what they are doing as they complete their work. Allow them the opportunity to question how things were done in the past and to come up with new procedures, processes or practices that enable them to more efficiently or effectively do the tasks. Today’s times demand a manager to become a change master. Today’s times demand that managers allow their employees also to become change masters.

Today, there are many leadership models being offered managers. Often, these reflect more style than skill, ability, knowledge or attitude. However you plan to lead your staff, you need to attract and maintain followers. This five-step formula ensures a more supportive staff.

This article was written by Florence Stone, author of 14 business books and editor of AMA’s new journal MWorld, to help executives and managers survive today’s fast-changing business world.