Sometimes, I want to scream out "why don't you get a job you like" to some people.
It happens in my own businesses, in the companies that I was hired as a trainer and in my daily interactions as a consumer. But while I want to lash out, I do know that I cannot really do it.
Getting a job you actually like from the onset is almost impossible and most people who think that they will achieve that are just naive.
Of course, if you do find it, I applaud and congratulate you.
But for most of you, learning to take ownership, educating yourself to do your job well and, in time, making your job an integral part of your life is what you must aspire for.
Leaders must help their employees with this, though.
Recently, I had to negotiate terms with a client. I had to deal with managers who were known to me. They were nice people but hard negotiators.
An agreement was eventually reached after some tough meetings. I walked out a little bruised but generally satisfied. I was quite sure they felt the same way.
Some time passed and the payment became due.
I noticed that unlike previously, there were inexplicable delays in getting my payment.
Eventually, after some probing, I got a call and was told that "management" had decided to change the payment terms.
You can imagine my vexation! My team and I had done quite a lot of work on the project, given it the required time and energy, and were accommodating to their multiple requests and modifications. But when it came to payment time, everything that was agreed upon was discarded. Unilaterally, I must add.
I wanted to go get angry at the manager who delivered the news. But in the end, good customer service ethics and my experience of dealing with large conglomerates stopped me from getting unduly emotional about this.
I have come to conclude that ownership of decisions in large corporations is often somewhat blurred.
It is easy for employees to blame the management or say their bosses decided differently, but what most people don't realise is that hiding behind their management undermines and devalues their own role.
At the same time, these same employees can get upset with the decision makers because "we have gone all out to negotiate and close a deal but only to be unable to deliver on what was promised".
To be fair, such situations will unsettle employees. They will feel let down by their company. In time, as this pattern continues, they become disengaged, disempowered and will no longer be willing to take ownership.
This is when people will say to them to "get a job you like". Now, who is at fault here; the employer or the employee?
In my experience, empowerment is the magic formula that heals many organisational ills and this has to come from the decision makers, i.e. the employers.
Most employees will say they want to be empowered.
Leaders who are committed to ongoing growth must recognise that employee empowerment is the most strategic method to inspire their teams. It is the enabler that allows those with real knowledge to make decisions about how to best serve the company's customers.
But employee empowerment fails because most managers only pay lip service to this notion.
Many think that it's just about asking what employees think about in a meeting, or allowing them to plan a company outing. This is not empowerment!
Employee empowerment is a philosophy or strategy that facilitates people to make decisions about how to do their jobs effectively.
Establish boundaries so that decisions can be made by your team members in your absence, give them clear margins on the decisions that they can make without your permission or oversight, and define what empowerment means to you and to them.
Then, having given clear and definitive limits on decision-making, do not micromanage the work of your team.
Understand that if you feel compelled to interfere, it's because you do not trust your team.
If you keep meddling, your team will realise this and either sneakily make decisions and conceal them from you, or they will keep coming back to you for everything.
Give your team members a framework to operate.
When you give your team challenging opportunities and goals to aim for, you also need to offer the structure on how you will measure their success.
Your team will need you to give them directions and also know how you expect them to practise empowerment.
As employers and managers, one of your highest value tasks is to train your team about what empowerment actually means.
You have to think about empowerment not as something you confer on your people but rather as a strategy to help them develop their skills and decision-making competency.
Competent and capable people will best serve your company. And, empowerment gets you the employee "who likes their job".
I take responsibility for the people in my companies. Do you?
Shankar R. Santhiram is managing consultant and executive leadership coach at EQTD Consulting. He is also the author of the national bestseller "So, You Want To Get Promoted?
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times