Replying to LO18299 and others:
Art Mealer wrote:
> Technically, if definitions are important, empowerment demonstrates our
> arrogance as managers and leaders, and our wicked potential as humans. ...
John P. Dentico wrote in part:
> In any case, to me, empowerment is an incongruent practice, ...
and
Dr. John Taylor wrote:
> To put a cat among some pigeons, I am personally no longer convinced that
> empowerment really exists. ...
My, my! Empowerment sure doesn't seem to be as wonderful as it
used to be. What changed? How did this once practical and accepted concept
ever get to be such a polluted mental model? We now have here a horrified
Machiavelli, a pseudo power falling in between benevolence and
manipulation, and "massah's" and slaves believing arrogant lies - how
embarrassing to have ever embraced such a concept. (LO18309, LO18304,
LO18299)
I guess I need another word or phrase for the skill that I used to
call empowerment.' And I do consider it to be a skill as much as
listening is a skill. (I prefer using the tools to build and enhance the
skills - my own mental model though.)
Take this situation as an example: This summer, my son will be old
enough to drive the truck to take our produce to the market. Since neither
of us wants him to run out of gasoline, he will need to be able to refuel
the truck as needed. I will tell the owner of the gas station that my son
has my permission to charge purchases to my account, and that I will honor
the indebtedness and make the payment. I will tell my son about the
gasoline arrangement, and make sure he knows my expectations. He will not
betray my trust nor will I second guess his decisions. We both know this.
What shall I call this arrangement if not empowerment? Authority
and responsibility are becoming aligned, yet no one has been enslaved.
There has been no de-powerment nor exploitation; neither benevolence nor
manipulation.
Used judiciously, this empowerment' situation can be extremely
beneficial. It can be an important component of growth and development.
It can speak much louder than words and have a more meaningful impact.
So even though the concept of empowerment now has some negative
connotations, the whole notion can not be simply dismissed. Perhaps
cleaned up, filtered, and renamed, but not completely thrown away. It
requires practice, wisdom in application, mistakes that we can learn from,
along with honesty, humility, and integrity. It is, IMHO, a skill for
learning.
Sincerely;
--Dennis Keibler djkeib01@homer.louisville.edu
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