What are the best ways to empower your team to make decisions and take ownership?

We have to allow for failure with Job safety. Many won’t even attempt to innovate or do better without some safety. Without this, you will only get what won’t hurt them…

Don't micro manage. Allow space to experiment but hold them accountable for outcome. This gives a sense of ownership and the magic happens. If you spend time micro managing...every step, it means you dont have the right level of skilled leaders in your chain of command and that reflects poorly on your selection of the next level leaders whom you have in your team.

I foster team empowerment by minimizing micromanagement and promoting a composed approach during stakeholder escalations. Instead of a stern demeanor, I encourage open dialogue to understand underlying issues, emphasizing collaboration by offering support in identifying needs. Even when addressing mistakes, I guide team members through reflection with questions like, "How would you approach this challenge in a similar situation?" I avoid asserting authority, fostering growth through questions that lead to self-discovery. This approach ensures a constructive team dynamic, promoting shared understanding and collaborative problem-solving, ultimately fortifying a culture of empowerment within our team.

While your point 1 on Setting Clear expectations and boundaries is critical, something that should precede that is re: sharing (your /the WHY and helping the team members connect with it and feel part of something bigger than themselves. To the extent it is practical, involving them and seeking out their ideas in shaping the vision can be powerful in increasing their commitment and ownership.

While empowering teams we must calibrate the risks against failures.If we are ready to take them in our stride then the empowerment will lead to ownership in the long run. Over a period of time, teams will learn their boundaries & expectations while taking decisions with full accountability.

"Trainings and coachings are immensely important for your team to be able to make decisions independently, self-responsibly, and solution-oriented. It's about developing the team so that they no longer view the problem to be solved as incapable and unsolvable. Instead, it's about increasing trust and competence so that they can view the problem with a high sense of self-worth from above and find the solution to implement it successfully."

Empower your team through training and coaching by offering skill development programs that align with their roles and responsibilities. Provide ongoing support and mentorship to enhance their decision-making abilities. Encourage a culture of continuous learning and constructive feedback. Foster a safe environment where team members feel comfortable taking risks and learning from both successes and failures. This approach helps build confidence and strengthens their sense of ownership in decision-making processes.

Providing training and coaching is essential, but there needs to be a focus on the individual needs and not rely on generic and one-size-fits-all approaches. For each team member, understand the unique skills and abilities, as well as areas where they could improve. This could be done through regular feedback sessions, performance reviews, or even through casual conversations. For me, the key is to promote a culture where team members are encouraged to seek feedback from you and their peers. This could be done through regular 1-on-1 meetings, team meetings, or even through anonymous feedback tools.

As a team leader, I have noticed that "imposter syndrome" (for lack of a better term) is real. I prefer to think of it as a need for some confidence building, and as a leader this is incredibly important to instill in your team. Remind them that they ARE the experts in the room when communicating their work, and they CAN state their point of view and defend their work when it is questioned by colleagues or other leaders. Mentoring and helping your team develop technical skill is definitely important. But developing soft skills such as effective communication, confidence and backbone are just as important for growth and career development.

Being a coaching leader is one of if not the most important competency to build your team members’ skills, resourcefulness and confidence to solve problems and make good decisions themselves, so you can focus on leading rather than getting involved in the doing. Coaching can also help build their resilience so the can better deal with setbacks and change.

I am a big fan of bringing the team into the problem solving and solution discussion. Share the situation and ask for their input - with the intention of seeking to understand before being understood. That way, they are involved, engaged and fosters an environment of learning and growth. All big enablers of team motivation, purpose and value added.

In today's distributed world, we need to leverage tech to bring people, problem & solutions closer & quickly. We don't not know what kind innovation is needed to solve. So we tried something new in my roles, and it has worked well, so far. What did we do ? 1) We created an internal platform to post challenges faced by all global team members, it could be a challenge that he/she faces to address a design issue or a customer field issue or application of a new tech. 2) Once the challenge is open, like-minded individuals subscribes to the "challenge" & offer their innovative approaches. Also categorise innovations as routine, incremental & breakthrough, they all need different approaches and collaborations at varied level within your Org.

"Creating a culture of trust is crucial to empower your team. This culture is fostered by ensuring, as a leader, that everyone on the team is allowed to contribute their input without immediately being criticized by the boss or their teammates. It's also important to avoid dismissing a team member's suggestion right away without explaining why it may not work. This requires a structured and respectful communication culture, for which the responsible leader is clearly accountable."

1. Encourage "fail fast", "being" agile first followed by "doing" agile next culture 2. Focusing on the idea and not the individual, reviewing and sharing opinions based on its merit/demerits as early as possible. 3. Enabling a growth mindset - innovation not for the sake of it being a cool tech or the buzz word but maturing the organization to link it to commercial success enabling growth of the company, shareholders and stakeholders

1) Positive Environment: Foster a positive work environment where team members feel encouraged to express their ideas and perspectives without fear of judgment. 2) Risk-Free Environment: Cultivate a risk-free atmosphere by emphasizing that mistakes are opportunities for learning and growth. Encourage open communication about challenges, providing constructive feedback rather than placing blame. 3) Inclusive Work Culture: Create an inclusive culture that values diversity and ensures that every team member feels heard and respected. Establish channels for open dialogue and actively seek input from all team members to promote a sense of belonging.

"When the right people work together in the right mood, extraordinary results can be achieved. To achieve successful outcomes, the ability to entrust tasks to team members in a trusting manner begins with the selection of individual team members. After that, it's about building trust, such as when the leader firmly believes that team members are absolutely capable of handling the task and communicates this in a motivating way. Then passing on demanding tasks becomes easy."

A tool and guiding framework to support delegating tasks as a leader is the Delegation Matrix. This 4 quadrant matrix considers two factors when deciding when to delegate a task to a member of your team. The two main factors are: 1)Task Importance/Urgency: Evaluate how urgent and critical the task is. 2). Training Time and Missteps by assessing how much time you have for training and how many mistakes can be tolerated. Quadrant 1 (High Importance, High Urgency): Avoid delegating these critical tasks. Quadrant 2 (High Importance, Low Urgency): Consider delegating with proper guidance. Quadrant 3 (Low Importance, High Urgency): Less critical Delegate tasks. Quadrant 4 (Low Importance, Low Urgency): Delegate routine or less critical tasks.

Finding the right delegation "altitude" can be challenging. Many accidentally micromanage or undermanage. What helps a manager find their sweet spot is approaching delegation as an opportunity to build an accountability culture. Here are some examples of what that looks like in practice: - Set expectations with your team that you trust them AND that you need to know what's going on in service of them and the work. - Have go-to questions that become a regular practice. This normalizes accountability and helps the team think proactively. Some example questions: - What's getting in your way this week? - What needs unblocking for you to meet deadlines? - Tell me about your timeline? - Is there anywhere you are under or overestimating?

When delegating, it is important that you provide clear guidelines and expectations. This helps ensure that they understand the purpose and desired outcomes of the delegated tasks. Offer support by letting them know that you are available to guide them when needed. More importantly, foster a culture of trust through open communication, transparency, and showing confidence in their abilities. These establish the importance of ownership and empowerment through delegation and serve as a strong reminder to not micromanage your team.

Empower your team by delegating effectively and appropriately. Clearly communicate expectations, provide necessary resources, and ensure team members understand their roles. Delegate tasks that align with individual strengths and interests, promoting a sense of ownership. Foster a supportive environment where team members feel comfortable asking for guidance when needed. Regularly check in, offering feedback and recognizing achievements. By trusting your team with responsibilities and acknowledging their contributions, you encourage a proactive attitude towards decision-making and ownership.

Remember this, there is always someone in your team who selflessly support outcomes for your organisation/colleague, but he/she doesn’t project himself/herself, they are busy doers. So, try this. When someone is outshining others no doubt he/she needs to be recognised. But ask them to pick a person who has helped them in their outstanding achievement. They will call out the hidden selfless person. Cricket analogy : like when bowler gets the wicket , don’t forget the fielder who took an outstanding catch to get the wicket for him/her. it creates a great level of bonding and transparency amongst team. We called this “award pair”, i.e winner of the award will get to pick the “pair winner” on the spot and both will be recognised.

Empower your team by recognizing and awarding achievements. Acknowledge individual and collective successes to reinforce a positive and motivating atmosphere. Clearly communicate the impact of their contributions on team goals and the organization. Establish a structured recognition program, whether through verbal praise, awards, or other forms of acknowledgment. By celebrating accomplishments, you encourage a sense of pride and ownership among team members, motivating them to take initiative and make informed decisions.

It is crucial in a company to acknowledge and reward the performance of team members. This is often not done enough because it is forgotten or because management wants to save money in the wrong areas. Exceptionally successful companies have the best employees and pay them exceptionally well. Outstanding companies also provide additional compensation for exceptional performance and results. They also agree with their leaders and team members that special achievements will be rewarded with special recognition. It's always about adhering to and creating a creed of fairness to ensure long-term business relationships and credibility with employees. "Live and let live" instead of exploiting and exploiting.

One simple approach of empowering teams shall be to NOT micromanage rather start from the premise of trust - this fosters motivation among team members with result-oriented outcomes.

I agree and an often missed very easy action to take that shows respect and caring is, in and of itself a form of recognition, is to ask the team as a collective and the individuals within it, what kind of recognition is meaningful to them. Some time ago I asked my team what recognition would be special for them. These people travelled and were away from home most weeks for 16 months. Some asked, ??Is it possible to recognize my spouse or my kids??? and added, ??That would be special for me, to have my employer celebrate my family’s sacrifice so I can work with this great team.?? We checked policy and talked with HR. We had the budget, it was a question of setting precedence. We did it! My team talked about it for months!

Leading by example is very important. Demonstrating the behaviours and attitudes you expect from your team is crucial if you want them to take ownership and make decisions with trust and openness. Reflect on your own leadership styles and actions, and consider the effectiveness and the areas that need improvement. Seek feedback from the team and be willing to make adjustments. Through these, you are able to demonstrate a strong work ethic, commitment, and willingness to take on challenges and adapt to changes. By investing in your own growth and leading by example, you will not only empower yourself but also inspire and empower those around you.

Being empathetic to other team members' concerns as well as communicating with energy and passion towards achievement of the project goals so that each team member feels as though it is their own personal victory in achieving the team's goal is absolutely critical as a leader. When the individual team members' personal goals and motivation is aligned to achieving the overall group / team objectives, it ensures that everyone works in sync for personal and professional progress. As a leader, it means being open to contrasting viewpoints and empathetic towards those members who require additional support and hand-holding. When the other team members evidence this themselves, the group's morale is boosted and team members trust each other.

Empowering your team starts with empowering yourself. Here's why it matters and how to achieve it: * Model Confidence: Inspire resilience. * Encourage Initiative: Cultivate a culture of initiative. * Decision-Making Skills: Hone your judgment. How to Empower Yourself: * Continuous Learning: Commit to ongoing growth. * Growth Mindset: Embrace challenges. * Seek Feedback: Actively reflect and seek feedback. * Clarify Values: Define your leadership vision. * Collaborative Leadership: Foster collaboration. * Set Challenging Goals: Aim for ambitious, achievable goals. * Build a Network: Surround yourself with support. Empower yourself to pave the way for a confident, innovative, and ownership-driven team.

- Continue to emphasize the strategy, it is not one glassy slide and move on. - Clear roadmap - Accountability - Give decision authority by supporting from behind - Help them expand the strategy to their own team so they can see long term goals than short wins alone. Short answer, give them freedom and continue to mentor them.

Give some room for the team to face their failures and see it as a team failure rather than an individual failure. The focus should be on what went wrong, learn from the failures and how it can be corrected rather than focusing on who was wrong.

Embed a growth mindset within the organisation. Research indicates that employees in growth mindset organisations feel more empowered, embrace learning, collaboration and innovation. These are ingredients for leadership facilitating decision making and ownership.