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244 PART 4: THE LEADER AS A RELATIONSHIP BUILDER

In addition, leaders greatly benefit from the expanded capabilities that employee
participation brings to the organization. This enables them to devote more attention
to vision and the big picture. It also takes the pressure off of leaders when subordi-
54
nates are able to respond better and more quickly to the markets they serve. Front-
line workers often have a better understanding than do leaders of how to improve
a work process, satisfy a customer, or solve a production problem.

Elements of Empowerment
Typically, increased power and responsibility leads to greater motivation, in-
creased employee satisfaction, and decreased turnover and absenteeism. In one
survey, for example, empowerment of workers, including increased job responsi-
bility, authority to defi ne their work, and power to make decisions, was found to
be the most dramatic indicator of workplace satisfaction. 55
The first step toward effective empowerment is effective hiring and training.

At Reflexite, a company that makes reflective material, components for motion
sensors, and fi lms for screens of mobile phones and laptops, leaders use a 16-step
hiring process because they want people who have the ability and desire to make a
genuine contribution to the organization. In addition to hiring the right people,
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organizations provide them with the training and resources they need to excel.
However, having a team of competent employees isn’t enough. Five elements must
be in place before employees can be truly empowered to perform their jobs suc-
cessfully: information, knowledge, discretion, meaning, and rewards. 57
1. Employees receive information about company performance. In companies
where employees are fully empowered, no information is secret. At KI, an
office furniture maker, everyone is taught to think like a business owner.
Each month, managers share business results for each region, customer
segment, and factory with the entire workforce so that everyone knows
what product lines are behind or ahead, which operations are struggling,
and what they can do to help the company meet its goals. 58
2. Employees receive knowledge and skills to contribute to company goals.
Companies train people to have the knowledge and skills they need to
personally contribute to company performance. Knowledge and skills lead
to competency—the belief that one is capable of accomplishing one’s job
successfully. For example, when DMC, which makes pet supplies, gave
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employee teams the authority and responsibility for assembly line shut
downs, it provided extensive training on how to diagnose and interpret line
malfunctions, as well as the costs related to shut-down and start-up. Employees
worked through case studies to practice line shut-downs so they would feel
they had the skills to make good decisions in real-life situations. 60
3. Employees have the power to make substantive decisions. Many of
today’s most competitive companies give workers the power to influence
work procedures and organizational direction through quality circles and
self-directed work teams. Teams of tank house workers at BHP Copper
Metals in San Manuel, Arizona, identify and solve production problems
and determine how best to organize themselves to get the job done. In
addition, they can even determine the specific hours they need to handle
their own workloads. For example, an employee could opt to work for
four hours, leave, and come back to do the next four. 61
4. Employees understand the meaning and impact of their jobs. Empowered
employees consider their jobs important and meaningful, see themselves