Cultivating empowerment in teams to drive creativity and productivity
We often hear from both charity leaders and their teams that they want to be more empowered. But how do you actually do this? We asked Tilt friend and collaborator Jon Barnes to share what he has learned about how to increase empowerment within teams.
Jon works with teams to help them become more autonomous, or as he puts it “helping teams step up and leaders step back”. At its core, autonomy is about granting individuals and teams freedom, but this freedom comes with an equal degree of responsibility. It’s a balance that, when achieved, can lead to remarkable growth in creativity, productivity, and innovation.
To bring to life how to increase team autonomy, Jon talked through the latter four shifts in our “Shift your mindset” model.
(If you want a great example of the first shift – from outputs to outcomes – check out Rosie’s story here of how she transformed business planning at Amnesty UK).
From hierarchies to networks
A major challenge to team autonomy is the traditional hierarchical structure. These structures, while sometimes useful, can slow innovation and limit people’s ability to make decisions. Jon points out, “You can’t get rid of hierarchies, nor would that necessarily be desirable,” but it’s essential to “move from centralisation to decentralisation decision making.” By adopting networked structures, where authority is distributed, organisations can make faster decisions that are better informed by experts on the ground.
Key points about shifting to networks:
- Traditional hierarchies can slow decision-making.
- Instead, networked structures decentralise authority, allowing quicker, more flexible responses.
- A more networked structure enables teams to be organised around work rather than power structures.
Watch the video on the right to see a great example – featuring Jon’s Nan – of the negative impact that hierarchy can have on individuals’ ability to deliver impact, plus our organsitional effectiveness.
From controlling to empowering
Empowerment is a critical shift towards autonomy. Lack of decision-making power is a key driver of employee disengagement. However, when teams are empowered, innovation can flourish.
Empowerment can be fostered by:
- Clearly defining roles and responsibilities.
- Leaders providing outcomes to be achieved, leaving the team to work out the specifics of how they’ll achieve them.
- Leaders transitioning from controlling decisions to facilitating collaboration.
With increased autonomy, the role of leaders changes from controlling decisions to coaching. As Jon puts it, “The role of a manager, if there is one in the future, I think will simply be to be a great coach.” Leaders can empower their teams by asking the simple question, “What do you think?” which encourages self-reliance and problem-solving.
A simple place to begin empowering your team is to crowdsource meeting agendas to give everyone a voice. (You can learn how to be an empowering and equitable meeting/workshop facilitator on our Facilitation Skills for Change Makers programme)
See the video on the left for a powerful example of how detrimental disempowerment can be for an organisation.
From predicting to experimenting
In order to be more adaptable and innovative, organisations need to shift from a rigid, predictive mindset to one of experimentation. As Jon explains, many people fear autonomy will lead to chaos, but he clarifies, “You need way more structure than you do in a hierarchy” to prevent that. By adopting the right processes, teams can experiment and innovate without losing control.
Key points about experimentation:
- Experimentation encourages innovation and fast learning.
- The right amount of structure is needed to support autonomy and prevent chaos.
- Leaders should replace the illusion of control with processes that encourage experimentation.
The balance lies in creating structures that support autonomy without overburdening teams with bureaucracy. By focusing on processes that facilitate experimentation, leaders can allow teams to try new ideas and adapt quickly, rather than attempting to predict every outcome.
See a great illustration of finding the sweet spot of structure in the video on the right.
From isolation to transparency
Transparency is essential for building trust and collaboration in autonomous teams. Moving from isolated silos of information to a culture of openness enables teams to make better decisions and act faster. “It’s about organising ourselves around the work that needs doing, rather than organising ourselves around hierarchical structures and power,” Jon explains.
Here’s how teams can begin to increase transparency:
- Try to make as many of your documents as possible, accessible by anyone, editable or commentable..
- Have discussions in public channels rather than emails
- Share your work as you go rather than waiting until it’s finsihed. Challenge yourself to make it visible before you feel comfortable.
Transparency simplifies communication, prevents unnecessary escalation, and allows teams to act autonomously without losing sight of the bigger picture.
Watch the video on the left to see what we can learn from nature about how we share information.
Transitioning towards team autonomy is a challenge, especially for organisations rooted in traditional structures. However, by decentralising decision-making, empowering teams, and fostering experimentation, organisations can unlock creativity and innovation. As Jon says, “Autonomy isn’t just about doing whatever you want – it’s about doing what’s necessary, together, with shared responsibility.”
