It is always nice to be in the driver’s seat. Employee empowerment gives employees more decision-making authority over their jobs but truly empowering employees is about much more than bossing yourself around. If you have succeeded in empowering your employees, then their self-esteem, job confidence and overall job satisfaction should be increasing. All of these factors increase an employee’s self-efficacy and we, as individuals, perform at a higher level when our confidence in our own abilities is high.

The first step is to create a culture that supports employee empowerment. It is not enough to say, “Good morning, John. Today, you are an empowered employee. Let me know how you make out at the Friday morning meeting.” Your culture must support John in everything he does.

Here are a few pointers on how to create an empowering culture:

Share your goals with your employees. If the game plan is shared, it is easier for employees to make decisions that contribute to reaching the goal.

Develop common problem-solving techniques that all employees can use.

Never suppress an opportunity for growth. Once a good candidate is identified, teach her your job.

Be sure to provide the training and skills required to support the empowered employee to carry out his new responsibilities

It is worth repeating: A shared culture is an important facilitator in any workplace initiative. Common values, goals and processes lead to common thinking. If everyone is applying the same thinking, it is easier for empowered employees to solve problems and teams to reach consensus without your intervention.

Remember that management succeeds through the workers’ efforts.