Yesterday, I bought new tires. My current tires had barely passed inspection, I had a long drive coming up in three days, and I had a window of time “right now” to get this done. I specifically went to the Pep Boys store that was next to Staples (I needed supplies) and down the street from Whole Foods (I could wait and get some work done).
Within the first seconds of my interaction with Manny, the sales service representative, I knew he wanted me to have an excellent experience, not because he told me so, but because he showed me. His greeting was friendly and professional. He took my order with confidence and clearly explained my options, after first confirming what was in stock. He empathetically explained that there would be a wait because of the current volume of customers, but that he would apply a discount coupon to make amends. He took my cell number to call me when my car was ready.
My car was now taken care of, the process felt easy and I could check a few things off my to-do list. Thanks Pep Boys!
Manny epitomizes empowerment in action. What a positive impact on this previously reluctant customer this empowered employee had! Often viewed as muddy business jargon that elicits eye rolls, “empowerment” is really a useful concept for managers who are sincere about improving quality, accelerating business strategy, creating customer loyalty, and promoting innovation.
The nitty gritty of empowerment.
An empowered workplace is evidenced by employees who initiate creative decisions and take actions that improve service and solve problems. Employees who require a lot of direction or who are poorly trained are not likely to perform well when expected to take initiative.
Develop employees who embody empowerment like Pep Boys’ Manny.
1. Exercise your power to empower.
Effective managers actively create an environment for employees to make decisions and take prudent action on their own. Granting authority, providing resources, and holding employees accountable for their outcomes and performance are standard fare on the empowerment bandwagon. All valid, but not enough. Here is a simple framework containing five often overlooked actions.
•Listen.
One of the most empowering acts is to listen. When people feel heard, they believe their contributions matter. As a result, they tend to step up.
•Be inclusive.
Look for ways and reasons to include other perspectives, opinions, and approaches. The whole point of empowerment is to ensure that employees act in the best interest of your company or organization. I don’t know about you, but I give more when my ideas are appreciated, even if they are not implemented.
•Be willing to be wrong.
If you must always be in control or never make a mistake, it will be hard to empower others, simply because they are likely to do things differently from you.
•Invest the time to crystallize your expectations and outcomes.
This is huge! Too often, breakdowns occur because the focus is on inputs and not outputs. An input is the format of a report or how many competencies need to be listed in the competency model. Outputs are maintaining on-time delivery or providing consistent quality of service over 13 locations. Managers who express their expectations clearly are able to empower others more readily because they find delegation easier and are more effective at it.
•Specify constraints.There are always constraints. Managers who “empower” make clear delineations of what’s “in-bounds’ and what’s “out-of-bounds.” Ethical and legal constraints or boundaries often are defined by values and regulatory requirements. Following is a starter list of factors that create stated or implied boundaries to help you think about your own constraints. (For maximum benefit, state all boundaries clearly. What’s clear to you is not automatically clear to someone else.)•Money – e.g,. spending limits, authority to reimburse expenses
•Company practices or policies – e.g., time off, work from home, or travel
•Geography – e.g., where employees have jurisdiction (locally, nationally)
•Products/services – e.g., access to types of services, products available for promotions
•People – e.g., who is impacted, how many
2. Promote confidence and personal power in employees.
Personal power is admittedly an individual process; managers who bolster others’ confidence are often thought of as “empowering.” Helping someone discover capabilities they didn’t realize they had or didn’t think were valuable is a wildly empowering act. Helping others build new skills also builds confidence.
It’s important to acknowledge that all managers are not comfortable having a cadre of confident, capable employees around them. Hopefully this is not you, but if it is, you will reap a great pay off from the effort you make to become comfortable in your discomfort.
As Manny began to process my bill, he discovered that the coupon he’d promised had expired. “I’m going to give you something, just give me a minute”, he said, as I could feel my patience waning. He called his manager to approve a 10% discount, thus overriding the fact that there was no special deal available. I never asked for special treatment, and no one told him to make this effort for me. Pep Boys created the environment that enabled Manny to show his best self and create a new loyal customer.