You Can't Empower People By Decree

January 6, 2014
miproconsulting
Blog

Great mini-lesson from Jason Fried over at 37signals, which he gleaned from the book Turn the Ship Around:

David Marquet, the author and nuclear sub captain, says you can’t empower people by decree. While you might be able to ask someone to make a decision for themselves, that’s not true empowerment (or true leadership). Why? Because you’re still making the decision to ask them to make the decision. That means they can’t move, or think, or act without you. The way to empower people is by creating an environment where they naturally start making decisions for themselves. That’s true empowerment. Leaving space, creating trust, and having the full faith that someone else will rise to the challenge themselves.

Couldn’t be more true if it wanted to.