Delegation is basically allocating the authority to people at various levels in the hierarchy. Traditionally it spells the limits of authority at each level. Empowerment on the other hand goes beyond delegation by enabling individuals and teams to achieve results. Typically delegation has its origin in the traditional market dynamics where stability was the norm as companies enjoyed monopoly in the marketplace. Ability of the company to produce was important rather than the taste and preferences of customers. Delegation of power was a means of assigning authority and at the same time defining the limits. Today empowerment is a must as more and more companies operate in perfectly competitive markets where speed, response and customization are bare necessities of competition. More and more organizations empower people to ensure customer satisfaction or initiate improvements in their areas of work. Simply put, empowerment emphasizes outcomes, where as with delegation, the emphasis is on compliance to procedure or policy.

Empowerment motivates people
Delegation is based only and only on organization’s benefit, whereas empowerment is a means of motivating the people by incorporating the learning and development aspects for individuals so that they can act in the best interest of the organization. So empowerment takes employees interests as the means to achieve the end (organizational benefits).

Empowerment is cultural issue
Empowerment has its roots in the trust in people to make appropriate decision. Empowered teams and individuals are expected to exercise their choice on how to go about the job to achieve the results. Empowerment encourages creativity and freedom. In such a culture, empowerment is limited only by the sense of accountability. On the other hand delegation has its focus on order and procedure. Empowerment is a cultural issue and has fast become an essential component of business today as aspects like agility, responsiveness, customer orientation, cost effectiveness, continuous improvement and flexibility are driving the business. Empowerment as opposed to delegation is not only about giving the power to people but also about letting the power out – helping people use the power.

Basic elements of empowerment
Delegation without empowerment often results in dissatisfaction and an element of fear in the employees. The fear arises as the individual do not have required information, knowledge or capability to make appropriate decisions. And if decisions are not based on information, there is every possibility that higher ups may not back the decisions made by those on the front lines. Once the decisions are not backed by management, individuals feel let down and dissatisfaction creeps in. This feeling of dissatisfaction has spiraling effect on future decisions and gradually the culture of indecisiveness engulfs the organization. So it very important for the HR professional to identify the elements, that drive empowerment in an organization. These elements typically are trust and understanding along the hierarchy, belief that customer is central to the business and not the boss, systems that ensure availability of relevant information to concerned people at right time, development of people to ensure their competence for exercising the authority given by the company and the most neglected aspect of all – closing the gap between practice and procedure. The gap between norms and practices will only add to the dilemma of the person who has to make a choice.