Empowering People to Take Responsibility

GENERALIST HELPFUL TIPS:

• Failure (and mistakes) is okay because we learn from our failures. Have this as culture.
• As supervisor, when someone asks a question-ask what do you think, or how do you want to handle that? If it’s good then say, okay go do it.
• Recognize employees - this encourages them to take responsibility for their work. Anyone can recognize fellow employees, not just managers and supervisors.
• Give credit where credit is due.

SUCCESS STORIES:

After reviewing the Employee Survey Results, we reached out to department directors who met one of the following criteria:

• Their department's score was higher than the County average in this category.
• Their department raised their scores from previous years scores.

They provided us with insight, feedback, and suggestions for departments who would like to improve in this area.
 

"Be sure the managers and supervisors have that responsibility and empowerment, and they are setting up the systems and providing clarity for staff to be able to make smaller day-to-day decisions. Avoid second-guessing decisions that have been made. If they have led to small "mistakes," learn from those and adapt moving forward and avoid assigning blame. When staff are trying to figure out the answer to a problem, ask them to come up with the solutions or options to bring to manager/director to confirm, so they develop the skills of thinking through and solving problems. We've also created subject matter teams so that staff can bounce ideas off each other and gain confidence in their knowledge about certain topics and processes." 

Lesli Ellis, Community Development Director

"As a manager, I recognize my employees perform many functions I cannot. I try to give work assignments in a way that explains why the task is necessary and how the product will be used. I encourage my team members to offer their insight regarding the work we do. They come with different experiences and perceptions which can build a broader view of our responsibilities and lead to better decision making. I also think it's important to hold people accountable for the work they do, both in terms of quantity and quality. Empowering them to be responsible for their contributions build pride and is the first step in recognizing achievement." 

Linda Hoffmann, County Manager
 

SUGGESTIONS & TIPS:

• Move toward clarity, systems, guidance for how to make decisions, so staff have the tools they need to do that.
• Focus on setting context for the work among your group.
• Help people understand why the work is needed and what the standards are for the product.
• Stay away from giving direction on how to perform the work; that's micromanaging.
• Be open to input and ideas. No one knows as much as everyone.
• Take advantage of the opportunities for improvement that come from your team.
• Remember to praise and celebrate success.