Leadership Skills

Empowering Others

If you believe in McGregor’s Theory X, then empowering others will be a foreign concept. When people are “empowered,” they have control over their work tasks, decision, time, and outcomes. For many people, having this type of freedom is motivating.

Leading by empowering others can make you feel that you have less control over the final outcome; however, allowing individuals to make decisions can be rewarding. Working as a team allows people the opportunity to come together to ask for clarity or guidance when needed. This may change people’s roles as they move between leading, mentoring, coaching, instructing, or supporting.

Here are a few ways to empower your team members:

Have a clear vision. Make sure the project purpose and goals are clear.
Delegate with a purpose. Know the team members’ skills, and make sure the right people are on the right tasks.
Determine roles and responsibilities. There may be individual tasks and subcommittee tasks, and each should know the expected outcomes and timelines.
Create structure. Determine budget categories and processes. Schedule meetings. Develop an overall timeline showing dependent and independent tasks.
Model appropriate behavior. Be available for questions and feedback. Communicate often, but don’t nag. Complete your tasks in a timely manner. Be respectful and supportive.
Celebrate successes. Brag on their accomplishments. Reflect on processes, and encourage them to make modification or be more creative (stretch them just a little) next time.

Leading & Motivating
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Velda Arnaud, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Lead, Educate, Serve Society
leadeducateserve@gmail.com