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The Empowerment Trap

Cathy Ivancic

October 1995

Imagine you are an office worker in a service firm that has recently become employee-owned. Now that employees own a piece of the pie, there have been substantial changes in the way decisions are made. You have become the empowered employee owner--master of improving share value and slayer of all corporate problems. While you're not sure exactly what new powers this role includes, you know you have the right to participate in company decisions. Taking your newly influential status seriously, you begin to look for ways to improve the company.

Stepping into the Trap

Last week the general manager asked for ideas on how to reduce the time it takes to serve customers. Filled with the new-found pride of being the empowered employee owner, you took him up on his offer. The next day when you sat down in front of his enormous desk, you felt as if you could really make a difference.

You mustered up the courage and delivered the speech you had already given three times in the mirror at home. You proceeded to describe a way of automating recordkeeping. While it would require a general upgrade of the computer system, it would make your firm a leader in the industry. You even provided copies of articles from trade publications to support your position. The general manager agreed that this was the wave of future, thanked you for your input, and briskly shook your hand. Finally, someone had listened.

Several weeks have passed while you imagined the work that top management must be doing to put together a strategy to purchase the new computers. Finally you decide it is time to check on their progress. "We've been spending our energy working out the details of a very profitable joint venture," the general manager tells you. "I'm afraid that the automation we talked about is not a priority at this time."

There you are, the empowered employee owner--dejected and seemingly powerless. You have stepped into the sharp teeth of the empowerment trap.

How to Keep out of the Trap

The empowerment trap is a common cycle of disappointment that happens in any organization that is moving from a traditional, hierarchical system to a high-involvement environment. It grows from the fact that there are a variety of ways to be empowered and a wide range of ways that groups can participate in decisions. Leaders need to learn how to clarify roles in group decision making. But what can you do if leaders are not effectively taking on that task in your organization? How can you avoid stepping into the same empowerment trap again? Before providing your input on a decision or solving a problem, check the following:

Honestly identify the elements of the decision where you can best contribute. Because of your expertise, experience, or perspective, there are some elements of any decision that you may understand better than anyone else. Be ready to explain your unique contribution and how your ideas help the company meet its goals. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses will help you focus your participation where you can be most effective.
Find out whether someone else is working on the problem. Ask questions about who, if anyone, will be taking the final responsibility for making the decision. Just because you are in a high-involvement environment doesn't mean that no one will make individual decisions or take responsibility for the implementation. Is there a committee, board, manager, department leader, or team that is responsible? Make sure to direct your ideas to that group or person.
Clarify your role in the particular decision. Ask what level of group participation the committee or person expects. Are you providing input? Will you be consulted before the final decision? Are you making a recommendation that will need approval or will you be sharing in making the final decision? In the example above, the general manager considered the conversation to be input for a decision he would make at a later time. The office worker considered it to be a shared decision. Without clarifying the level of participation, the decision-making process can be frustrating for everyone involved.
Be patient with the process.Participative decision-making takes plenty of two-way dialogue. Expect that decisions being made with a high degree of group participation will take longer to make.

By asking a few questions and clarifying the nature of the decision-making process, the empowered employee owner can avoid the trap of empowerment.

Cathy Ivancic is a consultant and co-owner at Workplace Development Inc. Since 1985, she has helped more than 100 ESOP companies enhance ESOP communications and develop an ownership culture. She is active in national organizations that promote shared ownership and has served on the NCEO's board of directors and as an officer of the Ohio chapter of the ESOP Association.She can be reached at civancic@workplacedevelopment.com.

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