Organizational Behavior

03/17/2014
Article 15
YE, J. (2012). 7 Principles for Employee Empowerment. SERI Quarterly, 5(4), 90-93.
Empowering employees is the key to achieving corporate performance. There are three
common barriers, however, that may prevent corporations to embrace this need. They are leaders
feeling anxious about losing their own job by sharing their power, distrust in employees to carry
out the job, and the lack of communication to employees. The business environment of today,
including the internal and external challenges, makes it hard for companies, even small ones to
perform all operations by themselves. Eventually, seven obstacles must be eradicated to have
employee empowerment.
First is the recognition that empowerment is the extension, not the dilution of authority.
Leaders have to be willing to extend their influence throughout the organization through
empowerment. Next is to define the scope and content of empowered work, or having the duties
clearly defined. Then, leaders should understand and develop employees capabilities. They
should also help employees accumulate small wins experiencetheir confidence will increase as
they achieve challenging tasks. They should also allow for autonomy in workor allowing the
employees to choose the path that seems best to perform the work. Most of all, leaders of the
companies should ask open-ended questions, listen closely and give positive feedback to
employees.