The word “empower” means to “put power into.” When you
empower your staff by encouraging and motivating them, they
become more powerful in achieving the results that you need
from them. Excellent managers are continually seeking ways to
make people feel better about themselves. They constantly
praise, encourage, and reward positive behaviors. They build
self-esteem and self-confidence by “catching people when they
are doing something right.”
Many thousands of employees have been interviewed and
asked about the qualities of the best managers they have ever
worked for. It turns out that the best managers practice the
four C’s in their interactions with their staff.
The first “C” is Clarity. It turns out that the greatest motivator
in the world of work is knowing exactly what is expected.
The greatest demotivator, on the other hand, is not knowing
what is expected. The best managers take the time to be
absolutely clear with each employee about what that employee
is expected to do, and in what order of priority, and to what
standard of performance. Everybody knows and understands
their job. This is a real key to empowerment.
The second “C” stands for Consideration. Employees
described their best managers with the words, “I always felt he
considered me as a person as well as an employee.”
The best managers take the time to show consideration
and concern for the personal lives of their employees. They listen
patiently when their employees want to talk. They commiserate
with them when they have problems. They ask about
their families, and they recognize their birthdays. They treat
their employees as special and important people.
In my company, fully half of my employees, men and
women, have young children. So do I. Early on, I recognized
the stress that a person can experience if their child has a problem
or need of any kind. I therefore instituted a policy called
“children come first.”
Under this policy, any of my employees can leave at any
time if one of their children requires their presence. No time
or pay is deducted. If, for some reason, their child requires
their attention, and they cannot come into work, we find a way
to work around it.
