Inspire Wellbeing: Empowerment at Work
“Empowerment” is the second pillar of Insight Coaching’s framework for workplace wellbeing. It’s the “E” in BEING well at work. Why does empowering employees increase workplace wellness? What does empowerment look like at the organizational, leadership, and individual level? Finally, what practical things can you do to empower employees and leaders day-to-day?
Meet Sybil and Audrey
Sybil and Audrey have both landed jobs as directors at two rapidly growing advertising agencies.
Each is equally talented, handsomely compensated, and perfectly suited to her role.
Each enters her workplace with optimism and enthusiasm, eager to put her wealth of skills into service and to accelerate her career.
However, Sybil and Audrey have a radically different experiences. Audrey is thriving while Sybil is just trying to survive.
Each is equally talented, handsomely compensated, and perfectly suited to her role…One employee will thrive and the other will just try to survive.
Sybil
On her first day on the job, Sybil sits down with her supervisor, Doug. He gives her an exhausted smile as he quickly relays to Sybil her responsibilities and who the key people are be on her team. She’s eager to get going.
But when getting down to work, Sybil realizes a colleague has already taken care of the tasks that Doug assigned to her. Sybil is not sure where she fits in. The chain of command feels muddy.
Within a few months, things haven’t gotten much clearer. Doug hasn’t given her the lead on any projects. Sybil feels frustrated that her job isn’t enabling her to tap into her talents.
Sybil is not sure where she fits in. The chain of command feels muddy.
So Sybil takes initiative. She pitches a company-wide project to help hone in on the organization’s core values and to support the whole team in aligning behind them.
She asks Doug for support. He tells her there’s no room in the budget for values.
Sybil begins to feel unsure of herself. With no women in senior leadership, she has trouble seeing herself move up. She begins to work evenings and weekends as a way to overcompensate for what feels like a lack of belonging, recognition, and sense of purpose.
After several weekends of unpaid overtime, Sybil starts feeling the early stages of burnout.
(Her supervisor) tells her how sincerely her skill set will help the organization meet its long-term vision and goals.
Audrey
In her first few weeks on the job, Audrey also sits down virtually with her supervisor, Omar. He tells her how sincerely her skill set will help the organization meet its long-term vision and goals. He clarifies the specific outcomes he expects of her, buts Audrey chooses which projects she’ll prioritize and which processes she’ll implement.
Leadership trusts Audrey to make her own decisions. They expect her to take ownership of her work. She learns quickly to delegates tasks. She asks without hesitation for the resources she needs. To the best of their ability, leaderships works to provide them.
When she isn’t sure of herself, Audrey feels no shame in asking questions. Leaders encourage team members to talk openly about their concerns and to offer their ideas and opinions candidly.
Audrey feels energized when she starts each day. She feels committed. She knows exactly why she’s there. Plus, her colleagues make it clear how much they appreciate her.
Audrey appreciates how leaders encourage everyone to talk about their values. They ask her if workload is manageable and if she’s making the most of her strengths. Supporting Audrey’s long-term career goals, her supervisor also provides mentorship, leadership training, as well as a stipend to invest in her own personal and professional development.
The result?
Audrey feels energized when she starts each day. She feels committed. She knows exactly why she’s there. Plus, her colleagues make it clear how much they appreciate her.
When employees feel psychologically empowered, it’s because they feel a sense of meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact.
The Case for Empowerment
Empowered employees like Audrey are more likely to be engaged in their work and to feel a greater sense of overall wellbeing. They contribute more. They perform better. They’re more efficient and effective. This empowers the entire organization to perform at its best.
Researchers frequently refer to two kinds of empowerment in the workplace: Psychological empowerment and structural empowerment.
When employees feel psychologically empowered, it’s because they feel a sense of meaning, competence, self-determination, and impact.
Empowered employees … are more likely to be engaged in their work and to feel a greater sense of overall wellbeing.
Structural empowerment refers to social systems of support that enable workers to fulfil their potential. At an organizational level, that might mean providing access to information about a company’s current state as well as its values and goals.
How does all that translate into practical terms? Here are ten questions to help you empower your employees both psychologically and structurally.
Are contemplation or mindfulness exercises offered to help employees focus on finding meaning and purpose in the everyday ?
Questions to Inspire Psychological Empowerment
How are your offering space for your employees to investigate their purpose and the meaning in the work they do?
Are you igniting peer conversations about inner values and ways to live those values at work? Are contemplation or mindfulness exercises offered to help employees focus on finding meaning and purpose in the everyday ? In what ways are employees given the opportunity to connect to something larger than themselves?
How are you recognizing contributions and acknowledging the positive impact each employee makes?
Are you both giving and receiving constructive feedback in supportive ways that empower everyone to believe in and make use of their strengths as well as to develop critical skills and competencies?
How are you encouraging employees at all levels to take part in decision-making and to develop their critical thinking skills?
If you’re a leader, are you consciously letting go of your need to control the outcome? Are you offering workshops in critical thinking and the development of discernment and strategic judgement for all staff? How are you encouraging interdisciplinary approaches to organizational problems? Are you involving diverse points of view from all levels of an organization?
How are you making room for creative play? Are encouraging risk-taking and failure as part of the learning experience?
Creative play enables us to bravely try new things and let go of the need to control or to have all the answers. How are you inviting play at your organization? Are you inquiring playfully into problems? If someone fails or makes a mistake, do you blame or reprimand or do you turn it into an opportunity to grow?
How are you offering your employees a sense of autonomy and flexibility?
Flexibility might look like remote or hybrid work. It might look like teams having the freedom to create their own schedules. Some employees may want to take part in meetings on the phone while walking outdoors. How are you remaining flexible as a leader? In what ways are you staying open to new ideas? Are you enabling employees to have autonomy over their work and to own their triumphs and their mistakes?
Are you igniting peer conversations about inner values and ways to live those values at work?
Questions to Ignite Structural Empowerment
How are you building trust between yourself and your team as well as amongst collaborators, internally and externally?
There’s dozens of way to build and maintain trust. What are you doing as a leader on a day-to-day basis to create a culture of trust and reciprocity?
Are you transparent about organizational goals and challenges?
It can be tempting to hide large organizational challenges from your team, but doing so leaves them in the dark and disempowers the entire community. If you’re hiding important decisions from your staff, ask yourself if it is harming more than helping.
Have you invested in developing a listening culture where employees feel fully heard and respected?
Listening is an art that we can all can improve on. Are you actively developing your empathetic listening skills? Do you listen before you talk? How are you demonstrating genuine curiosity about what your employees have to say?
Have you taken an anonymous survey to check if employees feel they have the resources to do their job properly?
Anonymous surveys are a great way to get honest feedback about what staff are thinking and feeling. Employees may be under-resourced but fear that raising the concern will jeopardize their job security. If creating and collecting a survey feels like too great a task, hire Insight Coaching to create, deliver, and analyze one to get to the heart of your employee’s needs.
What opportunities are there for up-skilling and re-skilling, and are they available to everyone?
Growth is the fifth pillar of Insight Coaching’s framework for workplace wellbeing. How are you providing learning opportunities to empower and expand the minds and hearts of your team?
