Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute

Book Review by Clair Woodbury

This is a book that only takes an hour to read. My kind of book! What's more it defines "the three essential keys to making empowerment work in large and small organizations." Read "congregations"for "organizations," because the keys work just as well in the church. Even better, the three keys are listed on the back book jacket if you are really short of time. They are:
1. sharing information with everyone
2. creating autonomy through boundaries, and
3. replacing old hierarchies with self-managed teams.

As the title says, the book is about empowerment. It is eight years old now, and you can probably find it at your local library. What Ken Blanchard believes is simply "People already have power through their knowledge and motivation. Empowerment is letting this power out!"

This book, written by Ken Blanchard and two colleagues, follows the winning Blanchard formula: keep it simple, tie learning in with a story, and no more than three things to remember. Those are pretty good principles in themselves. His three keys do require a little unpacking.

Sharing Information with Everyone

Information is power, we all know that. Leaders who truly want to empower their congregations, thus, share the information. That means the staff role in a modern parish involves a lot of information transferral. The key here, of course, is what kind of information one shares. A lot of what I learned years ago in theological college is stuff I have been eager to share, but there have been few takers. Information about deepening spiritual life, energizing next week, and how one's life can make a difference for family, friends and neighbours has been eagerly consumed. That gives people power over their own lives.

There is other information clergy often keep to themselves - how to conduct marriage preparation classes, preparing people for baptism, who among the elderly need a visit, etc. What leaders need to do is work themselves out of these "doing" kinds of jobs and move into the new role of empowering everyone in the congregation for ministry. Ken Blanchard puts it this way: "People without information cannot act responsibly. People with information are compelled to act responsibly."

Creating Autonomy Through Boundaries

The second key to empowerment took a little work for me to understand. If a group of people are clear about the principles and values of the overarching organization, says Blanchard, they can just go ahead knowing what they do is going to contribute to that organization attaining its vision. In the book, Marvin, the CEO of a struggling organization, visits a neighbouring business to learn their secret of success. "Your vision tells you the right things to do," he is told, "while your structure and systems, together with defined roles and goals, ensure that things are done right."

Here are the boundary areas that create autonomy:
1. Purpose-What business are you in?
2. Values-What are your operational guidelines?
3. Image-What is your picture of the future?
4. Goals-What, when, where, and how do you do what you do?
5. Roles-Who does what?
6. Organizational Structure and Systems-How do you support what you want to do?

For me, all of these are a like the banks of a river. Stay inside those boundaries and you can do anything you want with your canoe and still be moving downstream.

Self Managed Teams

The first two secrets to empowerment help the third-self managed teams-makes sense. Committees and groups and informal clusters can go ahead on their own without having to ask permission because a common vision and value system ensures knowing they are pulling in the same direction as everyone else. Self management becomes easy when you know where you are going.

The other ingredient lies in the word "team." Here at the Congregational Life Centre we have become more and more convinced through the years that Small Group Ministry is crucial in the life of a congregation. These groups of 12 or fewer are places where people can truly get to know one another, where mutual support and sharing can take place in an atmosphere where confidences are respected and honest feedback is the norm.

In the old-style congregation, you consulted "the minister" for direction. There was a dependency set up that clergy found flattering, if somewhat demanding. As the years have progressed, increased demands on clergy have resulted in unprecedented rates of burnout and disability. The answer, I believe, can be found in one word-empowerment. Ken Blanchard puts it this way: "Empowerment comes from teaching others things they can do to become less dependent on you." That, in a nutshell, is the role of a congregation's staff today.

There is a lot of thought behind this simple book. Ken Blanchard has been a leading guide since his initial book the One Minute Manager. John P. Carlos heads his own consulting group. Alan Randolph is a management educator. This is a book well worth the hour it takes to read and the time it takes to put into practice. I'll conclude with their parting advice: "Empowerment isn't magic. It consists of a few simple steps and a lot of persistence."

Ken Blanchard, John P. Carlos & Alan Randolph, Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1996.

Newsletter Vol. 8 No. 4 August 2002

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