3 practical steps for empowering your technical teams

Empowering your team is a good thing, and everyone keeps telling you to do it? The basics are straightforward, but the implementation can be a real challenge. There are 3 basic steps: put your team in a position to make decisions, teach them how to make the right decisions, and then stay out of the way.

There has been a lot of talk about empowerment in recent years — it’s one of those $50 management buzzwords that spawn whole management consulting cottage industries. But what is it really, and why do you want some?

Webster says

There are two dictionary definitions for the verb “empower.” This first is “to invest with power, especially legal power or official authority.” The second is “to equip or supply with an ability; enable.” Pretty good definitions, because the point is that in doing the first, you get the second.

You’re convinced. But how do you empower a team?

The wrong way: fire and forget

This is easy! All we need to do is to issue an e-mail telling everyone to start making decisions, right? Nope, you have to actually work.

You already know what you have to do: equip your team to make decisions and teach them to make the right decisions. Actually, there’s a third, secret, step, but you’ll have to keep reading for that one.

Put your team in a position to make decisions

First, you have to put your team in a position to make its own decisions. You, as the leader, have to provide your team with the information they need to make the right decisions in the first place. This means making sure you aren’t the sole caretaker of information in your organization.

In order to become prepared to make good decisions for the organization, your team not only needs to understand the big picture (inform and infuse your vision), they also need to understand the facts that surround whatever particular issue they are facing right now. You must create a culture that diffuses these facts quickly and efficiently so that the right information gets to those who need it. How?

There are lots of ways, but two that I use are shared email accounts for teams and daily status meetings. Team information is sent to the team email address so that everyone gets it at the same time. And my daily status meetings are time-limited to no more than ten minutes, and I make everyone stand up to ensure that no one settles in and starts filibustering. Items that need more attention get broken out to their own meeting later.

Teach them how to make the right decision

Second, you have to teach your team how to make decisions and which things are important to you in making those decisions.

When it is time for you to make a decision, try not to simply declare the answer and move on. As often as you can, lead key decision-makers in your organization through your thought process.

One of the ways that I accomplish this goal with my team is that I reflect requests for a decision back to the asker. I do this by asking what they would do, or what they think the right answer is. As they suggest what their course of action would be, I run the suggestions against the various criteria I would use to come to a decision myself: “That’s a good suggestion, but what about x?” And so on, until they can do it on their own.

The secret third step

Get out of the way.