Empowerment: Management Dilemma, Leadership Challenge

Abstract

There is a clear gap between the theory of empowerment and its practical application. Drawing on research by Harbridge Consulting Group, examines the problems inherent in implementing an empowerment initiative, considering especially the demands made on managers. Individual managers are seeing their supervisory and decision‐making roles eroded and, despite opportunities to act as coaches and facilitators, may feel threatened by, and unclear about, the empowerment process. Managers need to be encouraged to see themselves as “leaders”, mobilizing and aligning their staff, so that they become the engine of the process rather than a potential impediment.