Growth Through Empowerment
Many leaders struggle with empowerment. We hold on to things to protect our ego, to prove our worth and we justify it by saying that no one can do it as good as we can. We worry about what might happen when we can’t control the outcome, and in the process, we unknowingly stunt the growth of our companies. I reminded our leaders at Footers this week about how important it will be for us to empower others as we rebuild our company.
Empowering others requires us to talk about the “why” not the “how” in teaching people good decision making. If they understand “why” something needs to be done, they can find their own path to get there. I participated in a panel on leadership this week and the moderator, Amy Powell, reminded the audience that 2 + 2 = 4….and so does 3+1. There are multiple solutions to issues that come up at work and if we get stuck on teaching people the one way to do something, we strip them of their ability to act when things don’t go as planned. When we empower our team members, we help them grow as individuals and allow them to use their unique perspective to contribute in meaningful ways. When we empower them, they can more readily help their co-workers and they are better equipped to give great customer service.
I had one of the worst customer service experiences of my life last week and you probably won’t be surprised that it was courtesy of the cable company. Direct TV/AT&T to be exact. I mentioned that we recently moved and this was part of the transfer of our services. I was given the standard 8am-12pm window for my technician to arrive. At 11:50 I received a text that he would not be there by 12:15. This was followed by another text saying my new window was now 12-4. Despite my frustration, I rearranged my schedule figuring I would be next up and wouldn’t have to wait much longer. Wrong! At 3:45pm John the technician finally arrived at my house, only to find out that there was an error on my order. He explained that he had the necessary equipment to do the job, but couldn’t complete it without approval and said I needed to call to get it fixed. After getting disconnected twice, while on hold waiting for the service person to ask their supervisor for approval, (and no one calling me back despite the fact they had asked for a good call back number in case that exact thing happened) I finally got connected with a supervisor who I thought could make this easy fix. Wrong again! After an hour and a half on the phone, her going back and forth with someone above her, and them trying to charge me for their mistake, it finally got resolved and John the technician could complete the job, which took him until 9pm.
As I reflected on this experience the next day, I realized that this all could have been prevented with empowerment. There were multiple people that I interacted with during this experience that could have fixed my problem and delivered a much better experience. They had clearly been trained on how to talk to customers that were upset. They were all very cordial and used all the right reassuring phrases, however they did not have the authority to solve the issue for a customer or make it right. I’m guessing that somewhere along the line, someone decided there needed to be more rules, or checks and balances, put in place. Rules that seemed like a good idea, but in reality were only applicable for a small percentage of cases. Rules that probably wouldn’t be needed if they spent more time teaching people how to make good decisions and empowering them to do what’s right for the company and the customer.
When our team members are faced with a tough decision, especially one in which time is of the essence, we encourage them to ask themselves four questions: Is it right for the customer? Is it right for our team? Is it right for the company? Are you willing to be held accountable for it? If the answer is yes to all four, don’t ask for approval, just do it. I encourage you this week to explore the opportunities you have in your organization to empower others and help them grow!