We Got Engaged! (No…Not the Ring Kind)

Set them free.  Give them the rope to tackle projects and initiatives without your constant intervention and management.  The reasons for leaders to actively do this are numerous–but engagement has to be right there at the top.  So, how do you go about doing this successfully?

Start with creating clarity:  Freedom does not mean that you send employees out into the work without any guidance.  Quite the opposite, to really empower and engage reports, start by creating clarity of objectives, goals and strategies for the business and expectations for their role in achieving those results.  Empowerment without clarity is actually more draining and anxiety producing than it is engaging.

Recognize they will do it differently: And that is ok.  In fact, more often than not, they will do it better than you could have imagined.  For many managers, this is the challenging piece.  After all, managers get into their position often for being stellar at the work and after having built experience doing the work.  My intuition is that many managers in fact still want to be doing the work just with a greater title and more money!  Certainly, as a manager, you want to steer employees from disaster.  Surely, you want to be available to them for advice and guidance when sought.  Yes, and give them the space to tackle the work.

Build their confidence: The greatest thing about this approach of giving your reports the space they need to excel is that it naturally builds confidence.  This is brought into even greater relief because in today’s environment, managers granting space seems so rare.  Even if it were commonplace, this approach still builds confidence because as a manager you are acting “as if”; as if your reports are capable, talented, and prepared for the work.

Of course, all employees are different and are ready for varying degrees of empowerment given their competence and commitment.  My challenge to managers is to recognize your reports are actually more capable and committed than you believe.  So, engage them by providing them the opportunity to show you just how great they can be.

Jeremiah A. Palmer 
Guest Contributor to Milestone Leadership

At Milestone Leadership, we stress that leaders worth following are those able to offer appropriate structure balanced with consistent support so that team members can’t help but feel safe, engaged and energized to bring their best skills forward.