The leader’ s role then changes. The leader is no longer required to be the person with all the answers. The leader becomes the person who creates the conditions in which the organisation can find better answers. That is a more powerful form of leadership.
Empowerment Needs Alignment
Empowering people does not mean allowing everyone to pursue whatever problem happens to be in front of them. They also need to understand organisational priorities and how their work connects with what happens elsewhere. Otherwise, an employee can solve a local problem and inadvertently create a bigger problem somewhere else.
The objective is not simply to release people’ s intelligence. It is to align that intelligence with what matters most to the organisation. This is where leadership, strategy, process thinking and engagement come together.
Trust Changes The Conversation
I have worked with leadership teams where people operated with trust and friendship. There was candour. People could speak openly and disagree without every disagreement becoming personal. It was also a happier place to work.
Culture is visible in what people feel safe to say: whether they tell the truth when it is uncomfortable, admit that something is not working, or say,‘ I think there is a better way,’ without fearing that their suggestion will be seen as a challenge to authority.
When The Leaders Becomes The Bottleneck
I once worked with an organisation where the Owner had a strong view of how things should be done. The difficulty was that, in his mind, almost everyone else was wrong, and he usually believed that he was the right one. It became increasingly difficult for the organisation to benefit from its collective intelligence because alternative views were closed down before they could be properly explored.
At one point, I remember thinking that the organisation might actually benefit from the Owner being removed from the process he was trying to improve.
It was a striking lesson for me: A leader can become such a dominant presence that the organisation’ s other brains effectively switch off. When that happens, the leader may believe that he or she is maintaining control. In reality, the organisation may be losing the much needed capability.
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What Quality Circles Taught Me
My experience with Quality Circles has reinforced this lesson. You only need to attend a Quality Circle Convention and see what teams are able to achieve to appreciate the potential that exists within an engaged workforce.
I remember one CEO telling me that when the idea of Quality Circles was first suggested, he thought it could never work in Europe. Yet the results he subsequently saw were, in his words, almost unbelievable.
There was innovation, significant savings, operational improvements, and importantly, an engaged workforce increasingly aligned with executive leadership.
The deeper lesson is what happens when people are given the opportunity to discover their voice and apply their intelligence to organisational problems. People who previously appeared to be simply employees carrying out instructions can become problem-solvers, innovators and contributors to strategic performance.
We Must Allow People To Learn
Earlier in my career, I might have placed greater emphasis on technical ability. I still believe competence matters. But I have come to see something differently.
When people are made to feel that they can be themselves, that their contribution matters and that they are respected, they can often develop their technical ability much more quickly.
Why? Because they are working from inspiration rather than enforced duty. When someone is trusted to think, they have a reason to learn and improve.
If we want people to contribute, we also have to accept that they will sometimes be wrong. Leaders also get it wrong too. If we crucify people whenever they get something wrong, eventually they will protect themselves by saying nothing. Silence can look like agreement, but it is not necessarily agreement. Sometimes it is simply self-preservation.
A healthy organisation must distinguish between an honest mistake and negligence or deliberate disregard for standards. Good leadership knows the difference.
What Has 30 + Years Taught Me?
If I were to reduce my experience to a few lessons, they would be these:
Do not hire people for their capabilities and then ask them to leave those capabilities at the door: If you recruited them for their intelligence, experience and creativity, find ways to use them.
Ownership produces more than compliance: People who feel their views are valued can contribute far more than those simply waiting for instructions.
Leadership behaviour determines much of what people give back: If you want ownership, create the conditions for it.
Empowerment must be aligned with organisational priorities: The objective is not simply to have more people solving problems, but more people solving the right problems.
Trust and respect are not soft extras: They are conditions for candour, learning, innovation and sustained performance.
Finally, remain open to being surprised by people. People can change, learn and surprise you. Give them humanity and respect. Give them a chance to discover their voice. And when they are wrong, remember that we are not always right either.
The Real Opportunity For Business Excellence
The greatest untapped resource in many organisations is not another technology investment or management initiative. It is the unused intelligence of the people already inside the organisation
Business excellence requires good systems and processes. It requires effective strategy and disciplined execution. It requires measurement, continuous improvement and strong leadership. However, all of these become more powerful when people are trusted and enabled to contribute their best.
The question for leaders, therefore, is not simply:‘ How do I get my people to do what I want?’ The better question is:‘ How do I create an organisation in which every person can contribute the best of what they have, and align that contribution with what the organisation most needs?’ That is where leadership meets employee engagement. And, in my experience, that is where sustainable excellence begins.
Kola Olutimehin( also known as getKO- LA) is a Business Excellence Consultant who helps organisations achieve operational excellence through effective leadership, employee engagement, continuous improvement and organisational transformation. Engage via mail at: Getkola @ makewayglobal. com.