Interview: Dawn Richardson
Perfect Empowerment
Dawn Richardson
Hello, I am Dawn Richardson and I am in the studio today with
Steve Macaulay to talk about a book that he has co-written called
Perfect Empowerment.
So Steve, there are lots of interpretations of empowerment; what
do you mean by it?
Steve Macaulay
I see it as a change management tool. I think it has got a very clear
business focus in my mind; it is about devolving responsibility and
accountability downwards and I think that distinguishes it from
delegation where the manager keeps hold of the responsibility in
the end.
Empowerment started off in the nineties, I think, big time for
managers. I think it has now been subsumed into the whole area
of engagement and I think that is probably where it rightly needs to
sit. It is much less about power than it is about responsibility,
about making sure that you are flexible and responsive as an
organisation.
Dawn Richardson
And do you feel it has stood the test of time?
Steve Macaulay
I think it has; I think there are a number of organisations now that
have proved that if you do this well, then it is more satisfying for
the individual and the organisation simply works better; it is able to
respond better to the customer, it is able to respond better to
changes because people with the responsibility can actually see
what needs to be done and they are given the power to do that.
Dawn Richardson
Some books on empowerment seem very evangelical and
impractical, is yours?
Steve Macaulay
I think one of the things I would like to say is that empowerment
has got all sorts of different interpretations and indeed it would be
right to say that some people have misused the term, because they
have then gone on to delayer the organisation, take out people and
call this empowerment.
Some people, and I think that is really what you are getting at, see
it in a very political kind of way; so they see pushing power
downwards as a very emotive thing, as a thing that says this is a
great thing to do for its own sake. I am not in that category; I think
it is about a business need and it is about employee satisfaction.
Steve Macaulay
Dawn Richardson
In the book you say that the role of managers needs to change
considerably, can you just be a bit more explicit about that?
Steve Macaulay
Yes; I think one of the keys to successful empowerment and
engagement is about the manager changing from being the one
with all the power, if you like, and dishing out the power but wants
it on a close leash, to saying I am a facilitator, I am a coach; there
are other people that can take a lot of the routine decisions that I
have been taking. So it is quite a different style and some people
resist that quite strongly. People need – the managers themselves
need–coaching. They need help.
And also, the other side to that is one of the justifications for
keeping hold of power is that people don’t really have the skills to
do it, so the individual needs to be developed to be able to take on
those extra roles and they need the information to do it. If you
have not got those, then it won’t work. So there needs to be clear,
firm commitment from the top of the organisation and then it
needs time to develop that.
Dawn Richardson
So what are the implications for the organisation as a whole from
empowerment?
Steve Macaulay
Well I have started to hint that things look quite differently in
empowered organisations; you have got a lot more centres of
decision making. You need to have a clear set of values; you need
good information systems. Managers are going to behave
differently; it doesn’t mean that they are losing power and
responsibility, it means that they have got a different role.
So, in a positive way, it can really tune up an organisation; in a
negative way, it can mean lots of disparity – you ask one person
one thing and get one decision, you ask another person and get
another decision. The link that holds it together are values and
information and a facilitative coaching management style.
Dawn Richardson
What advice would you give someone who is just about to embark
on empowerment?
Steve Macaulay
I think recognise it takes time; I think it is not going to be done
overnight. I think you need very strong commitment from the top
to see it through. I think initially you can see a measure of chaos
happening.
I think, secondly, you do really need to develop people and make
sure that you have got people who are really competent in the role.
And I think consciously, again, foster this idea of teamwork; people
working together on an equal basis. So that needs some
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Steve Macaulay
development of respect, of listening, of good information systems.
So I think all in all it isn’t an easy road to go along and there are
quite a lot of people who have gone along that route to some way
and then said, it’s too difficult, we are not going to get there – let’s
get back to what we know. And I think that is a pity because I
think the way society has changed, the way business has changed
with its complexity means that if you are going to be successful in
the long run, then this a route you are going to have to adopt.
Dawn Richardson
Steve, thank you very much.
Steve Macaulay
Thank you.
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