Empower employees to be experts

Many employees in the workplace are skilled, competent, and high performers. They take pride in their work and have unmatched knowledge of their craft. However, it seems that when they are approached or asked about their work, they are coy about their response. This shyness identifies underlying problems. Lack of trust seems to play a role in this problem. It’s a problem because this lack of confidence stems from a certain degree of uncertainty, be it personal or professional.

I recently spoke with an employee about the steps to take to complete a job. I had no experience in this job, but I trusted him because he did the job competently every day. When asked about the steps, he referred me to his manager. This seemed strange to me, an employee who performs well in his job, delegates questions about execution to his manager. He also told me that his manager didn’t care how he did his job, just that he did it.

This is alarming, because it does matter how you do your job. This manager has a boss, and I suspect his boss cares how this job is done. It is also alarming because the worker seemed to have no confidence in his abilities. Now I didn’t have any prior knowledge of this job, and just wanted direction to do things the right way, but I discovered in addition to a lack of trust, that there may also be management issues at play.

The culture of the environment in which we work is an integral part of long-term sustained performance. Managers play a critical role in promoting and maintaining that culture. I’ve been a part of positive, active listening, and also negative cultures, you’re just a number of cultures. I guarantee that a positive culture is more productive.

Managers need to encourage their team members to take ownership not only of their work, but of the company as a whole. For employees to take ownership of this, management must create and promote an open and welcoming environment. When management practices strong communication skills, team members feel more empowered to make a positive impact. Managers who tell their team members that it doesn’t matter how they do their job may also say that they don’t care about the team member. This also makes the team member vulnerable when approached by higher levels of management.

Managers should encourage their team members to be experts at their jobs. They should provide guidance and be willing to listen and act on any suggestions that might help the work process. This managerial style of behavior will promote a welcoming and comfortable environment for the team member to communicate. Suppression of team members and their ideas only leads to a negative environment. This also leads to higher productivity.

As I processed the reasons why this team member would not take it upon himself to explain the job to me, I reflected on the level of trust this employee had. He did not believe in himself, although he perfectly knew the work process? Was he worried that I might make a misstep and blame him? Did they tell him to just work and put off any questions?

Managers have the ability to promote and encourage a positive work environment, but they can also affect a team member’s self-confidence. It was possible that this team member had low self-confidence. Regardless of his consistent performance, he had convinced himself that perhaps he didn’t know the job well. Managers who pay attention to their team members can pick up on this. When this is recognized, managers can approach the person with encouraging dialogue, ask for feedback, and possibly give an evaluation, if appropriate, highlighting the good work the team member has done. Being consistent in this approach will positively affect the employee. Training employees to be experts can lead to positive and productive work environments, but more importantly it can lead to increased self-confidence, which can positively affect your personal life.