Replying to LO26136 --
Peggy Stuart <pstuart@c2t2.ca> wrote:
> For empowerment, I received answers such as "empowerment is having the
> ability to make changes within the scope of my responsibilities"
> "empowerment gives me the confidence to do my job," "empowerment means I
> don't have to report to anyone," and "empowerment means people can make
> decisions with their supervisor's guidance."
> I see this as a problem since different interpretations of empowerment
> leads to varying levels of empowerment. Person A will be more empowered
> than Person B, which may lead to Person B resenting/envying Person A's job
> flexibility. Person C may see her or his level of empowerment change when
> she or he changes leaders/positions, depending on both the leader's and
> employee's frame of reference. This can lead to feelings of being
> "micromanaged" or feeling "lost" without the accustomed
> structure/guidance. These inconsistencies lead to confusion, and may
> subsequently lead to an employee's refusal to accept being empowered, all
> of which will significantly impact the learning culture. (Note: this is
> happening at my org. AFTER a job evaluation process where supervisors and
> employees sat down and negotiated what EXACTLY they thought were their job
> responsibilities.)
How can one person empower another (unless empowerment is synonomous with
authorization)? If I empower you to do something and later take that away
from you, were you really empowered? Or were you simply authorized?
Does empowerment only come from within?
Bill
-- Bill Harris 3217 102nd Place SE Facilitated Systems Everett, WA 98208 USA http://facilitatedsystems.com/ phone: +1 425 337-5541Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <Richard@Karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>
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