10 Ways You Can Start Empowering Your Employees

5. Know the strengths of your team to build confidence 

Loyal executives take the time to understand their team’s strengths and each person’s level of sophistication. Then, they go even further and lead the team to discover each other’s strengths and use them to foster a dynamic and efficient ecosystem. 

6. Give them a job that broadens their skills.

Sometimes people stop developing at work because a manager is reluctant to give them work. Sometimes it’s because they believe that a person is incapable of doing the job. In other cases, they feel like someone else is doing it faster or better. To make an employee feel empowered and help them grow and develop, offer them a job that creates challenges and allows them to reach new horizons.

7. Facilitate an independent learning process

When talking to your employees, facilitate a process of independent learning rather than giving them advice or solutions to a problem. Help them with questions find their answers or solutions so that they can take the initiative to pursue a goal and the responsibility of completing the task and learn from the experience.

8. Use training questions

Managers are often so task-oriented that they forget to ask their employees for their opinions on how to get things done. Questions deepen engagement, create ownership and accountability. Instead of storytelling, ask open-ended questions about getting your project started, meeting your deadline, getting over an obstacle, and getting the resources you need. Coaching questions are a key driver of empowerment. 

9. Encourage and empower people looking for solutions. 

To empower, we need to position a culture of individuals “in search of solutions.” Promote and empower them to discover, test, dip a toe in the water and take a chance. To take risks, they need to feel safe. The only way to increase their confidence is to recognize them, inspire them and validate them. 

10. Appreciate their ideas and actions. 

Managers who appreciate and recognize their employees’ contributions and accomplishments create an environment in which employees are more motivated to try harder and do their best. Evaluating your ideas and feedback builds confidence and confidence, leading to empowerment—executives who have a clear vision of themselves and focus on others naturally strengthen their team.