Empower Your Employees!

The word empower is often overused. Many employers talk about empowering their employees but often employees feel disempowered. Here's a list of the top 10 things you can do that will really empower your employees, according to employees, not employers!

1. Allow employees to actively participate in team and company goals.
Look for every opportunity to include employees at every level of the organization, in being active participants. Employees often report getting one-way directives instead.

2. Allow employees to suggest better ways of getting their jobs done.
Ask for employee suggestions for other ways of getting the task or project accomplished. Listen and be willing to really hear the employees' comments. Employees often report that they have no input and are told exactly how to perform their jobs, leaving no creativity.

3. Provide positive reinforcement.
Always listen and acknowledge your employees. Employees often report that their decisions and actions are second-guessed and that most, if not all, feedback given is negative.

4. Clearly delegate responsibility and give the employees authority along with the responsibility.
Do you give inconsistent messages? Do you ask the employee to handle a problem or project and then give them negative feedback or give them an assignment and then say "never-mind?" Employees often report that they are given tasks and then told they did it wrong.

5. Be clear in your communication.
When you express goals or explain projects, be sure the employees really understand what you are asking for. Employees often report that the goals are unclear and that they are not sure what they are being asked to do.

6. Show you have trust in your employees.
Allow them to make mistakes as a form of learning. Show that it is really ok to make mistakes. Let them know you really support their decisions. Employees often report that someone is always looking over their shoulder to make sure they do things right.

7. Listen. Listen. Listen.
Do you do most of the talking? Employees often report that conversations are one way, comprised mostly of their ideas being criticized. They don't feel they are heard.

8. Be interested in the employees' career development.
Meet with employees and discover their goals and their wants. Employees often report that their goals are not viewed as important in the organization.

9. Let the employees help you achieve success.
Are you doing it all yourself? Employees often report that their managers do all the tasks and that they have no way to make contributions outside their job descriptions. Look for opportunities to delegate and enhance the employees' career development at the same time.

10. Be a coach.
The best way to empower employees is not to manage them. Coach them to success. This is a process of developing their skills and providing them specific feedback to meet high standards. Employees often report feeling like children rather than being on the same team with their bosses. Be their coach and lead the team to success!


My Goal Is YOUR Success!
Terri Levine, The Guru of Coaching SM
PresidentComprehensive Coaching U
(877-401-6165)
http://www.CoachInstitute.com

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Doing Business in Today's World

In order for companies in the United States to prosper, it is essential for them to shift from management to coaching. World competition is fierce and those companies that have created new models to run their companies are the survivors.

Most businesses in the United States continue to try to manage people. This is what is still taught in almost all MBA programs and it doesn't work. The chain of command model, or a military model, where people have to reach certain goals or results is dead. Workers, managers and supervisiors have figured out how to play games to look busy and as if they are striving for the goals.

This is short term thinking that sets up internal conflict and employee fear and cares little about the customer.

It is time to Stop Managing, Start Coaching. When I wrote this bestselling book a few years ago it was based on my work with corporations worldwide who realized the model they were using wasn't working and were open minded to a new model. They embrassed quality leadership and realized happy employees are more productive and when they are more productive the company has higher profits.

If you haven't read the book, I recommend you do and you read the examples from real companies right in the front of the book.

Yours in Quality Leadership,

Terri Levine, PhD, MCC
www.terrilevine.com
www.coachinstitute.com