In today’s workplace, with more and more people working virtually, it’s important for employees to be able to work independently.

However, a lot of people don’t have that innate ability to self-motivate. They’re not naturally proactive, nor do they want the extra responsibilities associated with working independently.

They find comfort in routine and structure. To be sure, that does not diminish their value to an organization.

It’s just that usually they have managers more immediately available to them who can constantly push (or maybe pull them kicking and screaming) in the direction the organization needs them to take.  

Unfortunately, we live in a world where it isn’t always possible for a manager to be a babysitter, nor do most managers want to be that.

They want team members who can get their work done without a lot of supervision, with possibly minimal questions. They want people who can solve problems in ways that align with company objectives and culture.  

At the same time, managers need to be flexible and available to employees to support them in constructive, productive ways. To achieve this in today’s work environment, managers themselves must be empowered to be better leaders.

Here are a few ways organizations can achieve this, given all the challenges and constraints we’re all facing today.  

Create a Framework for Autonomous Action 

Empowerment is often about giving managers (and their direct reports) the leeway to make their own decisions when it comes to solving problems. But to do that successfully, they have to have upper management support.

And the best way to do that is to create a framework for decision making.

That means that policies and processes need to be made 100 percent clear. It also means that there needs to be a greater level of transparency between the levels of the organization.

Because wherever there are gray areas, there’s the opportunity for misunderstanding and miscommunication.  

Train Managers on Good Management Practices 

This might go without saying, but it’s surprising how many managers in the workforce often don’t ever receive formal management training.

In fact, according to a CareerBuilder.com study, 58 percent of managers say they never received management training. This highlights the need for managers, in general, to receive better, more complete training in their duties and how to better align employee activities with company objectives.  

Make Resource Sharing Easy and Painless 

Information in the workplace is possibly the most valuable resource there is, but it’s a recipe for failure when managers or employees can’t get the information they need to do their jobs.

But one of the more empowering things an organization can do is to help workers at all levels access and share resources.

This could be documents and a knowledge base, but it could also include peer coaching or just general peer collaboration.

Instead of always turning to the next management level for help solving problems, employees at all levels should be empowered to share information, offer support, and generally help each other out.

The result is that managers and employees will get more done, faster, and solve problems without having to escalate them. And in today’s near virtual work environment, this is more essential than ever before.  

Are you looking for a better way to empower your managers and teams? Help them connect with each other with Zenvoy, the only internal networking platform that’s algorithmically driven. 

Contact us to set up a demo and see what Zenvoy can do for your organization.