Why are instructions for empowerment so disempowering?

I am reading in my studies this week that organisations with empowered staff perform better.  We also know the way to disempower a person is to give them 100 tasks they cannot hope to satisfy.  So why are we given countless “to-do” lists of ways to empower people?

9,315 things you must do to empower people

Characteristics of an empowered workplace include: 1) decision making; 2) performance planning; 3) making policy; 4) taking initiative; 5) defining roles; and 6) setting standards.  Robert Cole says five principles of a leader that empower people are: 1) Trust in People; 2) Invest in People; 3) Recognise accomplishments; 4) Decentralise decision making; and 5)View work as a cooperative effort.

Colin Powell’s rules include: 1) Have vision; 2) Be demanding; 3) Check small things; 4) Share credit; 5) Be calm and kind; and 6) Remember that perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

Eric Harvey and Alexander Lucia present 144 (yes, 144) things to do to increase leadership effectiveness, of which the top 20 are:

1. Adopt an orientation to action and results
2. Recognise and reward those who make improvements to products, processes and services
3. Be customer-driven
4. Maintain a commitment to self-development
5. Make timely and value-driven decisions
6. Be flexible
7. Coach others to succeed
8. Schedule a short meeting with each of your direct reports once every two to three weeks
9. Minimise obstacles
10. Benchmark the best
11. Address deficiencies
12. Let your conscience be your guide
13. Enhance the work environment
14. Spread the sparkle
15. Display resilience
16. Show concern for others
17. Spend one-on-one time with each member of your team
18. Manage meetings effectively
19. Be sure everyone who reports to you has clarity of assignment and tools to succeed
20. Communicate effectively

Be yourself

Is anyone else completely disempowered by all the things we need to do to empower our workplaces? To me, it comes back to something Jack Welch says: Be authentic.

Leadership principles are born out of the character of the individual. What this week has taught me is that empowerment is just too hard to reverse engineer. It must be from the inside.

Rather than doing the things that empower people, be the kind of person that does the things that empowers people.