What empowerment means:
The leader trusts the team with making choices.
How it’s often done:
The leader trusts the team with making choices as long as it’s the same choice the leader would have made.
The worst version might be this:
The leader trusts the team with making choices as long as it’s the same choice the leader would have made and unfairly assigns responsibility for any negative outcomes to the team, even when the leader would have made the same choice.
Do you work for a leader who truly trusts their team? Please drop me a note! I’m assembling a list of leaders who light the path.