Empowerment

Definition
Empowerment is the art of inspiring another person. The challenge here is to learn how to empower yourself-giving yourself permission to "be all that you can be." Empowerment isn't just bravado: it involves responsibility as well as vision. It means believing in yourself and taking actions on your own behalf. For nurses, empowerment is recognizing your own skill level and practicing your skills toward the betterment of patients. It means allowing yourself to be mindful and thoughtful about your work. It is the recognition that you became a nurse to provide "hands on" care for patients. How easy it is to look at empowerment from the perspective of what you or your colleagues are not doing well. Instead, personal empowerment is an opportunity to know who you are, what you are doing and what you need to do. It is within the context of personal empowerment that we often find information about ourselves-what we excel at doing and where we need to improve.

Employee Empowerment

Empowerment is the process of enabling or authorizing an individual to think, behave, take action, and control work and decision making in autonomous ways. It is the state of feeling self-empowered to take control of one's own destiny. When thinking about empowerment in human relations terms, try to avoid thinking of it as something that one individual does for another. This is one of the problems organizations have experienced with the concept of empowerment. People think that "someone," usually the manager, has to bestow empowerment on the people who report to him. Consequently, the reporting staff members "wait" for the bestowing of empowerment, and the manager asks why people won't act in empowered ways. This led to a general unhappiness, mostly undeserved, with the concept of empowerment in many organizations. Think of empowerment, instead, as the process of an individual enabling himself to take action and control work and decision making in autonomous ways. Empowerment comes from the individual. The organization has the responsibility to create a work environment which helps foster the ability and desire of employees to act in empowered ways. The work organization has the responsibility to remove barriers that limit the ability of staff to act in empowered ways.

Examples

The manager of the Human Resources department added weeks to the process of hiring new employees by requiring his supposedly "empowered" staff members to obtain his signature on every document related to the hiring of a new employee.

John empowered himself to discuss the career objectives he wished to pursue with his supervisor. He told his supervisor, frankly, that if the opportunities were not available in his current company, he would move on to another company.

Empowerment, Delegation, and Motivation
Both empowerment and delegation give away something. Empowerment, in fact, can be the dispersing of power or authority. The key feature of empowerment is the concept of responsibility. Nurses can empower their colleagues to learn a new technique, for example, but knowing how to apply the technique in the proper circumstances and towards the correct goal is critical. Just teaching someone or giving away authority is not empowerment. Helping a person (or yourself) rise to a new level of understanding or proficiency is what empowerment is all about.

Motivation is the energy we bring to a learning experience. It is the incentive to change; the stimulus to move ahead. Motivation is the drive or enthusiasm that moves one along the learning continuum. Positive motivation enables successful empowerment.

How do leaders empower employees/staff/teams?
Leaders empower staff by giving them the tools they need to do a good job. For example, a good nursing leader keeps her staff informed about innovations, techniques or educational opportunities. She advises her team about CEU opportunities, in-service educational offerings, or she brings in speakers to address specific concerns of the team. She enables her staff to participate in an enriching experience.

Empowering.
The job of a good leader is to observe the behaviors of your staff and respond to their needs in a professional manner. In this case, grief can obstruct the ability of nurses to provide the care the patients deserve.

You have acknowledged her burgeoning skills and are utilizing them in a new way.

Delegating.
You are sharing your role as committee representative with other members of your staff. This helps you get accurate information and gives your colleagues a chance to voice their opinions.

Mentoring.
The role of a good mentor is to allow a person room to try, try again, and succeed.
You have noticed her skills and enthusiasm, and you are helping her stretch herself by doing a new task.

Motivating
By acknowledging her skills in this area, you are encouraging her to continue to provide new information for the team.