An important part of empowering people is establishing whether they are ready to be empowered and what steps need to be taken before the process of empowerment can begin. Use this exercise to assess a team’s readiness for empowerment.
Task
Read the statements in the table below, and decide which describes how you and your team currently operate.
Enter evidence for this in the final column together with any action you feel it is necessary to take.
1. Team Structure
Ready
The team’s structure is as flat as possible, with the minimum levels of seniority.
Not Ready
There are a number of tiers and the boundaries defining different levels of responsibility between them are unclear.
Evidence/Action Needed
2. Team objectives
Ready
Members of the team help shape their own performance objectives, (often suggesting new objectives, standards or processes) and/or personal development plans.
Not Ready
Members of the team have little control over their future.
You tend to define their performance objectives.
They rely on you to provide direction, rarely providing ideas or taking ownership.
Evidence/Action Needed
3. Quality standards
Ready
Team members take ownership for and debate/share/define quality standards.
The team use their peers as part of the checking process.
Not Ready
Quality standards are slipping or, alternatively, you act as a means of quality assurance.
Evidence/Action Needed
4. Team direction
Ready
The team is accustomed to working under little or no supervision.
Members of the team are comfortable taking their own initiative when necessary.
The team tend to resolve problems themselves or come to you with proposed solutions to problems.
Not Ready
The team need regular direction and look to you to resolve problems or to give them guidance.
You tend to chase up the meeting of deadlines.
Evidence/Action Needed
5. Participation
Ready
Every member of the team participates in discussions and team meetings.
Not Ready
Team members are often hesitant to voice ideas and need prompting during team meetings.
Evidence/Action Needed
6. Ideas progression
Ready
Where suggestions have been made, they have been listened to, debated and, where appropriate, implemented, i.e. team members can see follow-through and progress.
Not Ready
Suggestions have been made in the past, but after the initial interest and, despite good intentions, implementation has not been followed through.
Evidence/Action Needed
7. Training and Development
Ready
The team has access to training and development opportunities, both at present and in the past.
Not Ready
Team members may lack the skills and/or confidence to improve standards and processes.
Evidence/Action Needed
8. Team morale
Ready
The team has good morale and job satisfaction. Team members take personal pride in what they do and are personally motivated to achieve their work targets.
Not Ready
Team members do what is contractually required of them. There is a casual attitude to their work, or worse, grumbles or reluctance among team members.
Evidence/Action Needed
9. Trust
Ready
There is an atmosphere of trust within the team. Trial and error is encouraged. There is an element of risk when empowering team members and enabling them to resolve problems and make decisions. The chance of mistakes occurring is therefore seen as an acceptable risk and viewed positively as part of the learning process.
Not Ready
There is a blame culture typified by reluctance to admit mistakes, defensive behaviour and justification.
Evidence/Action Needed
10. Knowledge sharing
Ready
Information is shared freely within the team. People are usually happy to share what they know with other team members. There is a general assumption that everyone’s motivation is directed outwards towards the whole team – sharing knowledge therefore is seen to benefit everyone.
Not Ready
People feel uncertain or reluctant to share information which they come across. There is a belief that ‘knowledge is power’ and so keeping it to yourself is likely to improve your chances of moving to a higher position in the team.
Evidence/Action Needed
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