Creating and Sustaining Positive Organizations

By Robert E. Quinn

Recently I spent a week teaching a group of high level leaders from a large, hierarchical organization.  These were very impressive people who wanted to improve themselves and the units they led.  I shared many concepts from positive organizational scholarship.  As the program went forward, they all agreed that a positive organization would have empowered people.  This fact then led to their biggest question: “How do we empower our people?”

I told them that before they could empower there people, there was a puzzle they had to solve.

Empowered People

I first had them focus on the definition of empowerment.  I shared a list of characteristics from scientific research [1].  The list suggests that an empowered person has four characteristics:

1. A sense of meaning. Their work is important to them; they care about what they are doing.
2. A sense of competence. They feel confident about their ability to do the work; they know they can perform.
3. A sense of self-determination. They feel free to choose how to do the work; they are not “micromanaged.”
4. A sense of impact. They feel that they have influence in their unit; people listen to their ideas.

The Empowerment Puzzle

I then turned to the puzzle.  I asked them to do the best they could to create a strategy for empowering people.  The result was predictable.  They spoke of such things as clear assumptions, showing support from the top, communication of clear goals, expectations, and measures, and so on.  These were typical mechanistic, management assumptions.  The assumptions reflected a need to be in control.

I interrupted and performed a little skit.  I selected a person on the front row.  I told him I had a magic wand.  I then touched his head with the wand and said, “You are empowered.”

I turned triumphantly to the rest of the class.  They just looked at me.  I asked them what I just did.  One replied, “You empowered him.”

I looked at the others.  A few heads nodded.  I then threw the wand down and yelled, “No, no, no, what I just did is demonstrate that this person is powerless.”

They were confused.  I repeated the skit.  As I finished again telling the person he was empowered, I looked at the class and asked, “Who has the power?”

One of them finally replied, “You do.”

I responded, “That is correct.  I have just demonstrated that this person is powerless.  You cannot empower someone by telling them they are empowered.  The only way for a person to become empowered is for that person to choose to empower themselves.  Mechanistic efforts will not get you there.  Instead you have to create an environment that attracts people into the process of empowering themselves.  This is the puzzle of empowerment.  You must solve it by becoming a leader of people, by creating an environment that attracts them to taking honest initiatives.”

Creating an Empowering Environment

Thankfully there are some guidelines on how to create an empowering environment.  Drawing from this same research, I shared four dimensions of empowering environments:

1. Clear vision and challenge. Highly empowered people feel that they understand top management’s vision for the organization and the strategic direction of the organization and that they have access to the strategic information that they need. They know where the organization is going.
2. Openness and teamwork. In their work units, empowered people report a sense of participation, openness, flexibility, concern, creative problem solving, and cohesive teamwork. The unit works together to solve problems.
3. Discipline. Highly empowered people indicate that in their units, such matters as goals, lines of authority, and task responsibilities are clearly defined.
4. Support and a sense of security. Highly empowered people indicate that they receive support from their subordinates, peers, superiors, and others in their work group. They have a sense of secure and predictable relationships.

Now notice the third item.  Empowerment does have a mechanistic element.  People do need clarity of purpose, lines of authority and clear expectations.  But providing only these things will not result in empowerment.  Empowerment requires real leadership, a commitment to provide vision, and to build teamwork and maintain positive relationships. When these things are added to a sense of discipline and control, people are more likely to choose to empower themselves.

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References

[1] Spreitzer, G. “Psychological Empowerment in the Workplace: Dimensions, Measurement, and Validation.” Academy of Management Journal, 1995, 38(5), 1442–1465.

[2] Spreitzer, G. “Social Structural Antecedents of Workplace Empowerment.” Academy of Management Journal, 1996, 39(2).

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