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You are here: Home / Human Resources / Empowerment: A Simple Act That Leads To More Ethical Behavior In The Workplace

Empowerment: A Simple Act That Leads To More Ethical Behavior In The Workplace

August 12, 2011 By Lindsey Perkins Wade

Empower is defined by Merriam-Webster as “to give official authority or legal power; to enable.” The word has such a powerful impact when implemented in the workplace.

Empowered employees are crucial to running a successful business. They have the authority to make decisions, are able to take responsibility for their work, and are generally happier and more productive; they feel like a critical member of the team.

There’s one important reason why managers should strive to empower employees: it leads to more ethical decision-making.

I recently moderated a webinar called Taking the High Road: How To Succeed Ethically When Others Bend The Rules presented by ethics expert Frank Bucaro. He covered the importance of ethics when doing business and how to promote positive ethics in the workplace.

How does empowerment play into your employees’ decision-making process? Frank’s food for thought: The higher one’s self-esteem, the more ethical he or she is.

If you think about this for a minute, it makes sense. The most important benefit of empowering someone, in and out of the business world, is that it shows your trust in him or her. A person’s self-confidence skyrockets when someone entrusts him with a job because it communicates the message, “I believe in you.”

Trust is a gift that most people take very seriously. For example, if an outsider approaches someone for confidential information, an empowered employee would not only feel obligated to keep the information private, but because of the trust placed in him or her the employee would also know how disappointed his or her manager would be if she didn’t. Trust builds a person’s self-esteem, which helps raise ethical expectations of himself or herself.

Employees that aren’t given the authority to make any decisions often become disgruntled and don’t feel any obligation to keep sensitive company information confidential. In their minds, management has done nothing for them (lack of empowerment), so they don’t owe the company anything.

Because empowerment symbolizes trust, employees that are given authority are much more likely to make the ethical choice, even though it might be difficult for them in the short term.

Empowered Employees Crucial To Being Buyer Ready

Empowering your workers is crucial to your company’s success, especially if you want to exit your business in the future. You will most likely be removed from the equation once you sell your business. What’s left is the staff you’ve hired and developed. As we’ve discussed before, buyers are willing to pay a premium when the business owner has developed a solid mid-level management team.

For more information on building a buyer ready business, please click here and download our free whitepaper on this topic.

© 2011 Generational Equity, LLC All Rights Reserved

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Filed Under: Human Resources Tagged With: business ethics, employees, ethical leadership, People

About Lindsey Perkins Wade

Lindsey Perkins Wade is managing editor of The Private Business Owner.

The Private Business Owner – A Generational Equity Blog

The Private Business Owner is an online publication sponsored by Generational Equity. PBO aims to provide useful tips and information that will improve both the lives and businesses of entrepreneurs, as well as provide valuable insight into the company exit process through bi-weekly M&A Digests.
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