4 Simple Steps for Personal Empowerment to Create a Thriving Workplace Culture

Abe Brown, MBA, M.R.Ed, PCC The ultimate solution to a toxic workplace is a flourishing workplace. And while it’s not rocket science to create a flourishing workplace, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. A healthy workplace environment is not fostered by continuing to do what you’ve always done. As a result, we have to start doing different things to see different results.?

There are 10 traits that contribute to a thriving workplace, and in this post, we’ll discuss the first one, personal empowerment. This is all about stepping outside your comfort zone into new ways of being and doing. Personal empowerment is the beginning of a flourishing workplace culture.?

What is Personal Empowerment?

You may wonder what a sense of personal empowerment can do for people in the workplace. And here’s the answer: everything. As an employer, I want you to imagine that you have two resumes in front of you, Joe and Sally. And these resumes are virtually identical. They have roughly the same IQ, experience, and background.?

But imagine Joe comes to work every day feeling disempowered, like a victim, and that his contributions don’t matter. Do you think Joe will be excited about the opportunity to put his best foot forward on the job? Probably not.

Conversely, let’s imagine Sally coming into work every day feeling empowered. She’s motivated and has an “I got this” type of mentality. Who do you think will create and contribute to a healthy workplace culture?

Obviously, Sally will come out on top in this example.?

Why is that? Because people with an external locus of control (feeling like they have no control over circumstances or their lives) are much more likely to be ineffectual, depressed, hopeless, and anxious.?

However, people with an internal locus of control (feeling like they have a sense of agency over their lives) feel much more hopeful and often more successful than those who think they have no control over their lives.

This is what it means to have personal empowerment. Psychologists call it “agency.”?

Agency is a sense of self-confidence and the belief that one can handle the tasks and situations that present themselves in one's life. It’s about using what you can control to manage and moderate what you can’t.?

Moreover, agency gives you a sense of emotional and psychological stability. And this is important because often the environment is unstable. When this is the case, you have to rely on your inner strength, calmness, and personal sense of confidence to “wait out the storm.”

There’s an African proverb that says, “You can’t tame the wind, but you can turn your sails.”?

So, in an environment where it is windy and the weather is hard, that sense of internal agency empowers you to remain in control emotionally. In other words, your emotional state is not controlled by external forces.?

Instead, you remain the driver of your own emotions. Agency represents your ability to affect (not control) the future.?

4 Simple Steps to Strengthen Personal Empowerment

Here’s a good question to ponder that’s connected to what we’re discussing today: Are you the producer of your life circumstances or just the product of them? This is critical. You have to determine if you’re going to be the co-creator of your destiny or a mindless drone just going through the motions.?

You have much more power than you think. I know that the social and news media landscape wants to tell you that the world is crashing down and that you can’t control or improve anything. But all of that is a lie.

Now, it doesn’t mean you can control everything, but it does mean you have more influence over your life than you think.?

So, how can you develop this sense of agency and personal empowerment? Here are a few simple steps to follow:

1. Be Intentional

If you lack agency today, you need to be intentional about creating it tomorrow. Now, if you’re like me and you were raised in a chaotic environment, you have to be deliberate about fostering that sense of agency for yourself so that you can then emanate it onto others.?

2. Be Goal-Oriented

Personal empowerment comes when you stop letting outside circumstances dictate your actions. In other words, you need to become goal-oriented. It’s important to have that sense of internal direction in your life. Did you know that setting goals gives you a 43% advantage in achieving them??

Imagine that! You’re 43% more likely to hit your target just by setting the intention in the first place! Here’s the secret: when you set the goal, it has to be clear, written down, and not so high that you don’t feel overwhelmed.?

3. Be Adaptive

I would like to explain this concept using examples from an iPhone and a stress ball. I know this seems strange, but hear me out; I’m going to connect the dots for you in a moment!

A stress ball is a cheap, sponge-like ball you can squeeze, throw, or even drop from a jetliner 30,000 feet in the air. You can do all this, and guess what happens to the ball? It bounces right back at you, ready for more. Compare that to a $1200 iPhone that could possibly break if it fell out of your pocket.?

What’s the point I’m trying to make with this illustration?

We often walk around trying to be like the sophisticated “perfect” iPhone. The problem is that sophistication rarely leads to resilience. Now, I’m now saying you should be one or the other. If you’re sophisticated, then by all means, please be your sophisticated self. But also make sure you’re adaptable, versatile, and able to bounce back in the face of challenges.?

4. Be Self-Aware

You’ve gotta understand your emotions and triggers. In short, you have to know yourself. Understanding who you are, what makes you tick, and how you’re naturally inclined to show up puts you in the driver’s seat of your life. A self-aware person understands their flaws, weaknesses, and shortcomings. As a result, they can adapt to situations by using the strengths of others in areas where they may be lacking.?

On the flip side of self-awareness is understanding your natural gifts, talents, and abilities. Yes, we may have many flaws that could be a liability, but we also have many gifts that can be assets. So, it’s important to be self-aware enough to know where you stand on that spectrum. This understanding will help you better navigate life, business, and relationships and, as a result, significantly contribute to a healthy workplace culture.?

Why? Because healthy people create healthy environments. Unhealthy or hurt people create toxic environments.?

Conclusion

If you’re personally empowered and come into the workplace with a sense of agency, you contribute to a healthy work environment where everyone thrives. At Flourishing Workplace, we believe in a workplace where everyone thrives, everyone belongs, and everyone contributes. And let me promise you we can help you create a flourishing workplace.

All you have to do is book a no-cost, no-obligation discovery call. We look forward to hearing from you!

About the Author

Abe Brown, MBA, CMCT, CPHSA is the Coach’s Coach, and is an Entrepreneur, Professional Speaker, International Best-Selling Author, and High-Performance Leadership Coach. He is the founder of?Certified Flourishing Coaching??and?Flourishing Workplace. Abe is also the author of the Certified Flourishing Coaching? Programs.