Empowerment is very similar to delegation and, consequently, demands the same management approach. Empowered employees suffer, however, when their managers haven’t prepared them to make wise decisions. A manager says, “I’d like to empower you to do so and so,” then walks away. The employee makes decisions, but too often they are the wrong ones. Upon failure, the manager comes down on the employee.
Empowering without preparation—that is, removing the safety net (yourself) without first preparing your employees—is like letting a young child cross the street alone without first explaining the difference between red and green lights. Employees are very likely to get into trouble if they don’t know what they should and shouldn’t do. They’ll fall flat on their faces, which will discourage them from trying again—and discourage you from letting them try again, despite all the benefits you could gain if you provided a little grounding in the needed skills.