Paper Example on Team Empowerment Obstacles

Introduction

Empowered teams are used in the organizations to make management easy. The teams are made up of people with the ability to make decisions that can be followed by them and others. They are also held responsible for the mistakes they do because they are assumed to be accountable for their actions. The management is different from some of the other management styles where employees are only allowed to follow instructions and they are not allowed to make decisions on their own. However, managing these teas is faced with many obstacles that include the resistance of the employees, fear of change and lack of trust among others. The essay analyzes the different ways in which these obstacles can be dealt with.

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Practices for Organizing and Developing Empowered Teams

One of the best practices for developing empowered teams is to improve communication channels and ensure that all employees have the freedom and avenues to pass information. The leader should be approachable, and team members should make them know they can always approach them with questions. When things come up in the organization, all information should be shared freely to all. Good communication reduces resistance and fear for the changes (Matos Marques Simoes & Esposito, 2014). The other one is to create a culture of collaborative vision. The team should be made aware of the need to have a common vision and to strive towards achieving it. The other one is to encourage accountability by rewarding the team members that show high levels of accountability. Self-tracking should be encouraged so that members can analyze their performance. The leader should also help the team members to understand their roles and worth in the team. The common vision should be made a responsibility for every member and their role and positions should be clear (Ratcliffe, 2016). Each team member should know how their contribution increases the chances for the team to achieve its goals.

The other practice is to avoid micromanaging the employees. They should be set free to do their work as they wish and they should be empowered in a way that they can make decisions alone. When the employees are micromanaged, they may feel frustrated, their creativity and innovativeness is limited and creates fear. They should have the freedom to make valuable contributions. The other practice is to include the team members in decision-making. By asking for their opinions, they feel valued and respected. It also reduces their resistance to change and increases the team spirit. The other practice is to have an openness to ideas and to encourage and appreciate innovations. The leader should encourage the team members to suggest new ways to solve the issues that affect their company. The team leader should also create a positive working environment that encourages the employees to perform better. Lastly, the leader should be h supportive of employees and train them to come up with ideas for collective solutions (Ratcliffe, 2016). Through the above ways, the leader or manager can develop an empowered team.

Dealing with Empowerment Obstacles

As a leader, the first solution to empowerment obstacles is to ensure there is a good management structure. The structure should ensure collaboration and reduce bureaucracy. The other way is to gather adequate knowledge about the things that the team deals with. A knowledgeable leader is able to guide others and empower them in their work. The other one is brainstorm ideas with the team members to get more enlightened about their views and contributions. The above solution can only be achieved if there is a good communication between the leader and the team members. According to Christensen (2014), communication is an effective tool for organizational change and it reduces fear and resistance. Therefore, the leader can use it to achieve the empowerment goal. Lastly, the leader should have a clear vision, a working plan and allocate resources wisely.

Activities to Minimize or Eliminate Empowerment Obstacles

The first one is the training of employees to increase their knowledge. The leader should plan for training sessions to increase the skills of the team members. According to Hanaysha (2016), there is a direct connection between empowerment, employees training, and teamwork and organizational success. The other activity is to hold seminars to explain the ideas that are new and confusing. Such explanations can increase the knowledge of the employees and empower their thinking. During the seminars, team members should be allowed to ask questions and suggest new ways to solve the challenges that face the company. The other one is to give regular updates on the progress of the team and this would increase the morale and feeling of accountability. The updates should include sharing of roles to achieve the parts of the teamwork that have not been achieved. The other activity is auditing of the performance to determine the parts that are done to the satisfaction and the ones that require improvement. The auditing process should be done by external and independent teams that are not biased. Through the ways suggested above, the leader can develop an empowered team.

References

Christensen, M. (2014). Communication as a strategic tool to change processes. International journal of business communication, 51(4), 359-385.

Hanaysha, J. (2016). Examining the effects of employee empowerment, teamwork, and employee training on organizational commitment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 229, 298-306.

Matos Marques Simoes, P., & Esposito, M. (2014). Improving change management: How communication nature influences resistance to change. Journal of Management Development, 33(4), 324-341.

Ratcliffe, J. (2016). Empowering your team to encourage them to deliver better customer service. Journal of Aesthetic Nursing, 5(4), 202-203.