(10/25/2021)
Successful leaders empower their teams, but how do you place trust in others when wrong decisions can be detrimental to patient care? Read on as we provide guidance on how organizations can entrust their teams to make their own decisions.
Safe to Fail
When creating a leadership team, it is important to foster an environment that is safe to fail. When there are a lot of great ideas circulating, some may not pan out upon further analysis. In this trial-and-error process, it is important for employees to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts in a safe environment, creating a fast-track to team synergy by inviting leadership teams to have the creativity to innovate.
Fostering an open environment that encourages innovation is a key distinction from managing a team. Let people off the leash early. If employees are watched too closely, they cannot be expected to grow and develop in their role. The idea is not to watch over and control employees for accountability but to allow them the space to rise to the opportunities that are provided. They may not accomplish everything exactly as a supervisor would, but they are able to accomplish tasks with their own flair – most importantly, learning along the way. Offer coaching and mentoring to staff and regular check-ins, but let them off the lead to grow in their role.
Having a Voice
Empowering a team requires delegation. An organization is able to empower its staff with a certain degree of autonomy and control in their day-to-day activities. This can include having a voice in the improvement process, helping to create or manage new systems, and then running smaller departments with less oversight from higher-level management. By providing employees with a say in making important decisions, an organization can guide to ensure that those decisions are correct. When a company fosters open communication, employees feel empowered in their workplace. Provide opportunities for employees to give feedback to leadership. This makes employees feel respected and heard in the workplace and also provides valuable feedback for what may be missing from the leadership team.
Offer Course Correction
When you offer too much power or authority over others in a team, it can negatively affect the dynamic and result in resentment or distrust, which is counterproductive to a good empowerment strategy. If an employee has felt entitled to take any action that perhaps they shouldn’t have taken, speak privately and encourage reflection; let the employee reflect on what happened, what they were trying to accomplish and what actually occurred. This is to encourage the employee to recognize wherein their decision-making process that things took a turn. The objective is for the employee to recognize their instincts and trust their gut feeling, which is a powerful tool in leadership. By creating a rapid assessment of the situation, they are able to understand their error, make adjustments and move forward. This creates an environment that says to a team, “I’m human too.”
The Ripple Effect
When employees can feel like they’re contributing in the workplace, there can be a shift from passion to a sense of purpose. The ripple effect comes in watching the outcome and metamorphosis of a staff. By being intentional, the smallest of actions can create a ripple effect, starting with attitude. When people are kind, they inspire others to be kind, spreading the ripple outwards, touching lives and inspiring kindness wherever it goes. Investment in professional development and self-improvement can also transform a staff as well. Encouraging staff to go back to school or invest in themselves with healthy habits can enrich performance and create a more well-balanced team overall.
Medxcel supports employee growth and empowerment in the workplace and believes in creating safe and trusting work environments. Want to learn more about Medxcel? Contact us at
info@medxcel.com or 855-633-9235.