Don’t empower your people! | Issue #181
Why ’empowering your people’ won’t help your company grow
Empowerment. It’s a real buzz-word. Companies trumpet it loudly from the rooftops – ‘We empower our people’ emblazoned all over websites, brochures and adverts. But have you ever stopped to think about what empowerment means and what it implies for your business?
Dan Pink has. In his seminal book, ‘Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us’, he’s pretty scathing. He says the notion of empowerment ‘presumes that the organisation has the power and benevolently ladles some of it into the waiting bowls of grateful employees’. I couldn’t agree more. Patty McCord, former Head of People at Netflix, says that empowerment implies that power has been taken away from staff in the first place. Yes, exactly!
To my mind, leadership is about communicating their worth and potential to people and then getting out of their way so that they can succeed at what they do. This is quite different to ‘empowering’ them.
How to Maximise Sales Growth in a Post-Pandemic World with Aaron Ross
How can you maximise sales growth while minimising the workload and stress on both you and your executive teams?
This is what Aaron Ross, dad of 10 kids, co-author of From Impossible To Inevitable and author of Predictable Revenue, is currently advising revenue executives about.
In this latest episode of The Melting Pot, Aaron shares what’s changed in the world of work since he wrote Predictable Revenue back in 2011. Because the world has moved on a lot since then – what implications are there now for both sales and executives as a result of the pandemic?
If you’re finding that your outbound sales are broadening out, and you’re wondering how to create predictable, scalable revenue, then don’t miss the world’s foremost expert on outbound sales development chat about what works for him.
Because juggling 10 kids, being on numerous SaaS boards and being an author is a serious skill to master.
Recommended Podcasts
The Art of Making Things Happen (Bluefishing) Steve Sims
A series of conversations and viewpoints on how to communicate, build relationships and grow loyalty from the widest range of guests you could imagine. Searching the widest extremes to speak to people that have made a life from their ability to communicate or without that ability they would simply not be able to do what they have!
Recommended Articles
Work in the Era of No Retirement
As the world’s overall population skews older, the workforce is aging as well, with more older adults working well beyond what used to be considered the typical retirement age. Older adults are the fastest-growing segment of the American workforce, but ageist attitudes about this population persist in the workplace and the job market.
What’s Next: Life After Selling Your Business
Thinking about life after entrepreneurship can be scary, and you may even battle some feelings of unworthiness as you ask yourself, “Was it just luck?” This can lead some entrepreneurs down the endless road of wanting to prove themselves.
What Stops People on Your Team from Leaving?
Amid the Great Resignation, managers are asking themselves why. They conduct exit interviews, trying to understand why people are resigning and devising solutions to the problem. But narrowing in on why people leave may exact a price: neglect of loyal and engaged employees who want to stay in the organization. These employees, when ignored, might also feel disenfranchised and opt to leave, setting off a negative spiral.
Recommended Reads
Change your questions, change your answers by Marilee Adams
Questions are at the core of how we listen, behave, think, and relate–as individuals and organizations. Virtually everything we think and do is generated by questions. Questions push us into new territories. The future begins with our thinking, represented by the questions we ask ourselves. Change Your Questions, Change Your Life shows readers how to consistently choose the questions that can lead them to success, both personally and professionally. This technique, called “”QuestionsThinking,”” stimulates innovation, accelerate productivity, and create more rewarding relationships. Change Your Questions, Change Your Life is a personal growth fable that tells how a seasoned executive, Ben Knight, uses QuestionThinking to move into a higher leadership role and how the same methods of change help him and his wife, Grace, enrich their marriage.
Rare breed by Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger
An unconventional business book for the rebels and misfits – the Rare Breeds – who don’t fit the traditional mold, offering an approach that’s anything but business as usual. There is an unofficial rule for success: You need to change who you are to achieve greatness. But it doesn’t have to be that way. What if you could leverage your so-called vices and shortcomings and make them your superpowers? Rebellious. Audacious. Obsessed. Hot-Blooded. Weird. Hypnotic. Emotional. These seven vices are what acclaimed leadership and brand experts Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger identify as keys to becoming a Rare Breed – those standout leaders and achievers – in any career.
News from the farm
CEO Bootcamp with Verne Harnish and Dominic Monkhouse
This September, Verne Harnish is coming to the first CEO Bootcamp in the UK to spend time with you and 9 other business leaders and their #2’s in a 4-day reinvigorating experience.
You will work closely with Verne and Dominic to address your more pressing challenges and uncover those opportunities you’re overlooking and that will truly help you move the needle in your business.
Apply today to join Verne and Dominic at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, near Bath (UK).
Monday 12th, September – Thursday 15th, September
MEANINGFUL ACTION FOR MONDAY
Ask your direct reports when they did their best work
This week on your 1:1 with your direct reports, ask them when they did their best work. My guess is that none of them will say when they were being managed. More likely they will say when they had autonomy. They had freedom within a framework. They knew what the train lines were, but they got to work out how far to go and what to do.
Upcoming events
Like Minds Nudge Ideas Festival, Exeter (UK) – 25th March
The Like Minds Nudge Ideas Festival is back in person. Join 200+ entrepreneurs and business leaders at the South West business event of the year. It takes place at the impressive Winslade Manor, just outside Exeter on March 25th. They’ve curated an amazing group of speakers and workshop leaders for you this year.
Early Bird tickets are on sale now and include all your tea/coffee during the breaks and lunch in the Georgian Manor House itself.
Very limited on numbers so don’t miss out.
Scaling Up Workshop with Dominic Monkhouse – 23rd June
The workshop is your first step in the process of identifying and addressing the real challenges confronting your business. You will receive practical guidance in the essential skills that underpin manageable and sustained growth. Join five other business leaders on a half-day session with Dominic Monkhouse, away from the uproar of the everyday commercial world and look at your business afresh – to recognise your strengths, your weaknesses and your opportunities.
Quote of the week
“The reason we have to empower people is because we took that power away from them.”
Patty McCord
Dominic Monkhouse
Dominic offers business coaching and management development, strategy planning and organisational change, using tried and tested methods to launch your organisation onto an unparalleled growth trajectory. His programme is a function of his broad experience, his deep expertise and a proven process used by over 2,700 firms worldwide.