Let's Get Real About Empowering

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systems

rom a safety theory perspective, empowering employees to make their own decisions about applying safe practices to their work is a good thing, but is this what really happens? Recently, Dr. Rozana Huq published her research on what employee empowerment means, both in theory and in practice.1 Her empirical research findings focus on four critical themes: power-sharing, participative decision-making, devolution of responsibility, and a people-oriented leadership style. Dr. Huq’s research focus included a large organization (a British-owned communications company, employing more than 2,000 people) and a small organization (a privately-owned manufacturing company, employing 54 people).

THINKING

Let’s get real about empowering employees

Are your managers serious about sharing power?

By James E. Leemann, Ph.D.

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Power-sharing

Huq considers Dr. Jean Neumann’s definition of employee empowerment as “passing on previously withheld power and authority to employees further down the hierarchy” as useful.2 Many managers fear sharing power will lead to losing power. Huq points out Hardy and Leiba-O’Sullivan’s research reveals that management science literature has avoided the

issue of power.3 Little, if any, power-sharing was practiced in the large organization. A serious disconnect existed between the kind of “power” managers thought they were giving and what employees believed they were receiving. Employees were not interested in political power, but wanted “more discretion and responsibility for decision-making within their own work situation and greater scope for utilizing their capabilities.”4 The owner of the small operation did not share power with non-management personnel. After promoting a number of experienced factory floor operatives to middle management and team leader positions, the owner shared power with some of the middle managers only. A number of these selected middle mangers had difficulty learning the “new behavior of power-sharing,” but most...