Empowering Leadership

2.3.7 Empowering Leadership

Leadership²⁹, naturally, is in the key position to enhance or inhibit empowerment and empowerment processes. Leadership is a social process that has the potential to influence. It is exercised in a relationship that includes a two-way influencing process between leaders and followers. Through the influencing process the leader has an opportunity to impact the followers. A leader can enhance an individual’s commitment to an organization, his/her objectives, group cohesion, and organizational culture among other things. (Sadler 2003, 415.)

Antikainen sees that the role of leadership in empowerment is to facilitate a growth-oriented atmosphere. This encompasses a number of processes. It must communicate clearly. Clarity is expected in relation to strategy and job descriptions. In addition, leadership should articulate clearly the expectations that it has towards employee performance. Communication is enhanced through regular contacts with the subordinates and stakeholders. Leadership is expected to form a clear vision about the future and communicate it to all. Leadership should respect innovative ideas springing up from the staff. In this way they enhance new approaches to work, innovations, development, and participation. When these factors are enhanced, the staff develops a sense of influence that we have noted as crucial to empowerment. Leadership can also contribute to empowerment through incentives. Incentives may be concrete rewards (money, study-leave, etc.) or positive feedback. In an organization, the leader can support interaction. Interaction is often facilitated by forming groups and teams.

Groups may facilitate empowerment by enabling collective learning, problem solving, development, mutual help, and formation of team-spirit. (Antikainen 2005, 204–222.)

29 In this context, leadership is thought of encompassing such persons who through their position in an organization can influence conditions that can contribute towards empowerment. Such persons can include chief executives, directors, managers, supervisors, team-leaders, etc.

Antikainen has put together a useful summary of what her study suggested as the qualities of a transformational and interactive leadership.

Table 5. Qualities and actions of transformational and interactive leadership.

Source: Adopted from Antikainen 2005, 243.

Influence on Two-way Interaction Open dialogue presuppositions communication

Ability to translate Enabling and ethical Open & understanding Building working

new goals into leadership attitude and empathy contexts “safe” and

desireable objectives empowering through

Ability to listen actively Control of moods dialogue Good social skills calmness in critical situations

ability to support and Positive and constructively Questioning of practices encourage critical feedback Ability to make difficult and welcoming of

decisions differing opinions Opennes for feedback and without confrontation Securing staff Recognition of Stress elimination

competence expertise

Assessment of training Explicit recognition of Development of organization needs expertise and processes with the

to secure smoothness of

Development of culture Increasing responsibility operations that enables learning and giving related feedback

together and encourages Securing such experiences innovation Rewarding system of that give feelings of job

incentives satisfaction

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Ruohotie (2004, 4–14) has examined leadership from the point of view of an interactive process (see also Sadler 2003). He notes that leadership is often researched from the point of view of a leader. However, it is also important to discuss the leadership process from the point of view of the follower. The traditional view sees leadership as an initiating force and often limits itself to descriptive accounts of leadership. Ruohotie proposes that a deeper and broader look is needed in order to understand the mechanisms involved in leadership processes. According to him, the leadership process should aim at changing cognitive structures that are open to influence: attitudes, schemes, and scripts. In addition, a leader can influence emotions, motivation, observation and group cohesion. The nuance of importance is that leadership in empowerment contexts cannot be viewed as a process influencing organizational structures and other external factors. Empowering leadership should aim at changing

cognitive structures to make changes permanent. Especially, leadership should aim at changing self-image and identity of the followers.

Senge’s (1993, 339–360) discussion on the modern leadership role challenges the traditional view as well. He has listed some of the traditional views on and roles of leadership as directive, manipulative, hero, captain of the cavalry, navigator, captain of the ship, etc. Such images have dominance, display, admiration, and strength in common. Senge suggests something different. Although he describes the new work of a leader in a context of learning organization, his views might help us understand the qualities of an empowering leader as well. Innovation, change, learning, organizational agility, and vision are just a few common denominators of organizational learning and empowerment (Antikainen 2005; Argyris 1998; Kuokkanen 2003; Ruohotie 2001;

Spreitzer et al. 1999). In addition, Senge uses the word empowerment in connection to all his three qualities. Therefore, there is sufficient ground to argue that the qualities of the leader of a learning organization are, at least to an extent, the qualities of an empowering leader.

Senge suggest that the key tasks of new leaders are to design, to exercise stewardship, and to teach. Senge illustrates the leader’s task of design through an illustration of a ship. When asked what role a leader should assume in an ocean liner, the answers fall along the lines of what is described above. Senge claims that seldom do people associate the leader with the designer of a ship. However, it is the designer that to a great extent determines the performance of a ship. Traditional views on leadership and the view of a leader as designer are at odds for many reasons. What the designer does is not applauded and recognized. It is forgotten that what is seen today are consequences of what has taken place in the past. Senge (1993, 341) says: “Those who practice it [leadership by design] find deep satisfaction in empowering others and being part of organization capable of producing results that people truly care about”.

Secondly, an empowering leader is a steward. He or she has a sense that his or her actions are apart of something greater than mere good and efficient leadership or management. Such a leader has a sense of bringing change into the society. A steward leader considers his vision precious because it reaches beyond an immediate benefit to a greater purpose. The focus of an empowering leader is not on his or her organization

but on the part that he or she plays in the larger vision, purpose, or story. Finally, Senge sees an empowering leader as a teacher. By teaching he does not refer to “teaching how” but to fostering learning. A teacher leader is able to help the bulk of the work force to understand systems thinking that will affect the performance of the organization. Senge sees teaching as the safeguard against creating an untruthful understanding of reality. Such a reality might be more insightful and empowering, but it is untruthful and cannot stand the test of time. (Senge 1993, 353–357.)

Spreitzer and his associates (1999) conducted research on three leadership qualities that they hypothesized as relating positively to empowerment. They concluded that empowered leaders were seen as innovative, upward influencing, and inspiring by the subordinates (1999, 520–522). These leadership characteristics relate especially to transformational leadership. Unfortunately, the hypotheses of Spreitzer and others did not explicitly touch on how these empowered leaders empower others. Some implications might be noted. It seems that innovation breeds innovation. When new innovations emerge, it will create positive expectations of success (similar ideas shared by e.g., Antikainen 2005; Argyris 1998; Herrenkohl et al. 1999; Kuokkanen 2003).

Secondly, when an empowered leader is able to influence his or her superiors, it can boost a sense of influence in his followers as well (similar ideas shared by Eklund 1999;

Fetterman et al. 1996; Gutiérrez et al. 1998; Koberg et al. 1999; Kuokkanen 2003;

Siitonen 1999). This feeds a sense that the intrinsic needs of the workforce can be fulfilled. Thirdly, an empowered leader is able to inspire others. This can take place by being proud of, showing respect, putting confidence in, and trusting the workforce (similar ideas shared by Antikainen 2005; Herrenkohl et al. 1999; Koberg et al. 1999;

Kuokkanen 2003; Senge 1993; Spreitzer et al. 1999, 513–515).

Nokelainen and Ruohotie (2003) have argued that Ruohotie’s instrument of growth-oriented atmosphere can be used to explore the prerequisites of empowerment. The growth-oriented atmosphere model accommodates a factor of leadership and management. The components of the factor include: appreciation and rewarding of learning and securing resources for it, empowering of individuals, support for the growth or professional identity, career development through interaction, setting goals for development, evaluation of learning and development, and creates commitment to the job and to the organization (Ruohotie & Nokelainen 2000, 151–154). Although

there are a number of dimensions in leadership that contribute to facilitation of growth-oriented atmosphere and consequently to employee empowerment, Nokelainen and Ruohotie argue that the single most important leadership trait in this context is encouragement (Nokelainen & Ruohotie 2003). Their study seems to imply that encouragement catalyzes commitment to work and organization over three times as much as strategic leadership. Encouraging leadership is also crucial in a sense that it makes work related tasks incentive. Workers feel that their contribution is significant and therefore appreciated by themselves, colleagues, and organization. (Nokelainen &

Ruohotie 2003.)