The Empowerment Solution

Managers are often on the hunt for the right set of incentives or rules that will make everyone in the organization more productive. The debate is often intense. Should the solution revolve around salary? Work/life balance? Advancement opportunities?

At Rakuten, we have come up with a solution that inspires productivity at all levels of our organization – from our leadership to our staff and even to our customers and partners. Our incentive is empowerment.

What does empowerment do?

• Empowerment creates ownership. When we empower our people to take the initiative and make decisions, we create ownership. An employee following orders will be moderately interested in the outcome of a project. An employee empowered to make that project a success or failure will treat that project as if he or she owned it. Owners are passionate and committed. Empowerment creates an owner’s mindset in a company setting.
• Empowerment unleashes creativity. When we step back and let the stakeholders create solutions, we give them the opportunity to think outside the box. At Rakuten, we empowered our customers – merchants using our e-commerce platform – to create their own web content and features. By empowering them, we gave them the chance to create.
• Empowerment frees managers. A company is most productive when every member of the ecosystem is focused on company goals. If a manager must spend time giving orders and monitoring their execution at every stage of a project, that manager is essentially a babysitter. If, on the other hand, the team members are empowered to move towards their goals without constant supervision, a manager can become a coach or leader.

Far too often, empowerment is seen as a gift or a benefit management bestows on workers. Instead, it should be viewed as a productivity tool. Empowerment is the process by which everyone is called upon to do his or her best work. It is the incentive that produces true results.