Empower Your Players and Win More!

by Marcy Marro | 1 September 2020 12:00 am

Empower: To give power or authority, enable, authorize or allow others to perform an act or task.

Many company owners grow their companies by controlling every move on every project with every employee. Then they get stuck at their level of control and therefore stop growing. The answer is to learn how to empower decisions to their team leaders and key employees so they can focus on more important priorities like growing their company. When an owner makes all the decisions for employees, they become overly dependent on the owner. In this condition, employees stop improving, as their boss doesn’t allow them to learn from their own decisions and mistakes.

To start an empowerment attitude in your company, you will have to commit to letting go of major decisions, start a training program and be willing to watch people make some mistakes. Your employees and managers will learn to stop relying on you, and decide that it is better to be accountable. This major shift starts at the top. You will have to train and trust, just like a coach. And eventually your team will gel and become more competitive, faster, stronger and better.

Empower: To give power or authority, enable, authorize or allow others to perform an act or task.

Are Your Employees Empowered?

In an un-empowered workplace there are many common signs. Here are some symptoms that could exist in your company:

1. There is a lot of negative energy.
2. People don’t volunteer for responsibility.
3. Nobody offers their comments in meetings.
4. People don’t admit when they make mistakes.
5. People don’t ask for help when they need it.
6. People only do what they’re supposed to do.

All of these situations indicate your company is managed by a controlling boss who doesn’t delegate or empower people. When people are controlled, they are kept down and don’t perform to their fullest capability. When people are empowered to make decisions and play the game, they feel they make a difference, become responsible for results, become an integral part of the team, and contribute their full talents and ideas.

Let Go to Grow!

As a manager, you’ve got to give up power and control. Don’t let the pressure to achieve more with less keep you stuck in your natural tendencies to want to stay in control. When you give up power and control, you gain motivated, inspired, fulfilled and excited employees.

Let Go but Keep Some Controls!

Just to be clear, even the best coaches can’t delegate everything to their players. In your business there are a few things that require tight controls. The key is to decide what to control and what to empower to the players. Owners can’t delegate their overall vision, values and integrity. But they can delegate most everything else.

For your company, what must stay controlled, and what can be delegated? Make a list of what you can delegate versus what you must continue to control. Remember, the more you control employees, the less they are responsible for. High control equals low performance and low control equals high performance. Your overall empowerment goal is to transfer tasks, accountability and responsibility to your players. Take a look at this list and decide who should be accountable and responsible for each task.

In your business there are a few things that require tight controls. The key is to decide what to control and what to empower to the players. Owners can’t delegate their overall vision, values and integrity. But they can delegate most everything else.

Project Empowerment Task List

1. Keep all required safety materials on-site
2. No extra work be performed without change order
3. Issue all subcontracts within first 30 days of project
4. Shop drawings approved within first 45 days of project
5. Full understanding of general contract and subcontracts
6. Ensure that construction meets plans and contract
7. Maintain job profit
8. Prepare accurate monthly job cost and schedule updates
9. Submit monthly progress payment by month end
10. Keep up-to-date field records and job paperwork
11. Keep project site clean at all times
12. Supervise and maintain quality workmanship

As you begin turning over areas of responsibility, the tendency is to micromanage the process. Remember, your team works when everyone knows their area of total responsibility and is free to achieve the expected results.

Delegating Decisions

As you begin to let go of decisions panic might set in. Start slow and make it a joint effort between yourself and your employees. For example, let’s say you want to delegate a routine task like ordering and scheduling materials. What would be the best way to go about it?

Step 1: Tell them what you have decided to do

Explain to your employee you want them to take on more responsibility and become a more valuable part of the team. Ask them what they think about the change and added responsibilities. Then ask if they are willing to try to make it happen. Lastly get their buy-in that they want to take on more responsibility.

Step 2: Coaching and training

Show them how to do the task. Then let them try the task with your input, guidance, assistance and close supervision. Repeat at least three times until you are sure they fully understand how to accomplish the task without your input.

Step 3: Delegate the task

Now for your leap of faith. You must completely let go and let your employee do it. This is the hard part. Set up a step-by-step review process. Set appointments for review during scheduled milestones. Over time, you can reduce these milestone review meetings as you build trust and confidence with your empowered employee.

Step 4: Rewards

After you have successfully completed all four steps in the empowerment process, reward your employee for accepting and successfully accomplishing important tasks without your constant input and direction. This will encourage them to want to accept more responsibilities in the future.

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George Hedley, CSP, CPBC, helps contractors grow and profit as a professional business coach, popular speaker and peer group leader. He is the author of “Get Your Construction Business to Always Make a Profit!” and “Hardhat BIZSCHOOL Online University” available—on his website. Visit www.hardhatbizschool.com[1] for more information.

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