Beyond Command and Control: Empowering Leaders Build Capability and Drive Innovation

By Jonathan H. Westover, PhD

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Abstract: This article explores how leaders can empower employees to drive innovation, build capability, and achieve greater organizational success. It examines the research on effective leadership approaches that consistently outperform "command and control" styles. Specifically, the author argues leadership is not about exerting top-down control but rather developing talent from within, granting autonomous work to teams, and fostering psychological safety. The article reviews case studies of companies that instituted empowering practices like radical promotions from within, autonomous project teams, and removing rank from creative meetings. It then discusses how empowering leaders act as coaches to develop strengths while advocating for employees. Finally, the article provides practical recommendations for implementing empowerment principles, including starting with pilot programs, communicating philosophy clearly, and shifting incentives away from micromanagement toward creative problem-solving. Overall, the research presented makes the case that empowering others through capability-building, autonomy, and safety represents the hallmark of truly transformational leadership that drives engagement and competitive advantage.

As a long-time management consultant and practitioner researcher, I have had the privilege of working with leadership teams across many industries. Over the years, certain leadership approaches seem to consistently outperform others when it comes to employee engagement, innovation, and long-term organizational success.

Today we will explore what those high-impact approaches have in common and how leaders can develop them within their own teams. I will argue that great leadership is not about control and command, but rather empowering people at all levels of the organization through building capability, granting autonomy, and fostering psychological safety.

Trusting Leaders Develop Talent from Within

One of the most powerful ways leaders can empower their people is by investing in their continuous development. Research shows that employees who feel their skills and careers are being nurtured through challenging assignments and ongoing learning are far more engaged, innovative, and loyal to their employer (Gebert et al., 2016; Sparrowe, 1994). Rather than relying on external hires to fill open positions, enlightened leaders make internal promotions and talent development a top priority. They view each person’s potential as limitless and work to cultivate that potential over the long term.

At one technology startup I advised, the CEO instituted a radical “promotion from within” philosophy that overturned conventions about credentials and experience. She believed diverse thinking was the key to innovation, not pedigrees or resumes, so she granted ambitious employees opportunities to take on stretch roles far earlier in their careers than is typical. Through intensive coaching and regular feedback, many thrived where others may have failed them. Morale soared as everyone saw pathways unfolding before them. Within a few years, a critical mass of internally developed leaders had emerged, armed not just with expanded skills but a genuine sense of empowerment and ownership over the company’s success.

Autonomous Teams Drive Innovation

When people see themselves as masters of their work rather than cogs in a machine, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit tend to flourish. Leaders who grant autonomy to self-managing teams see dramatic benefits. A wealth of research shows self-directed work teams outperform groups managed through strict top-down control (Manz & Sims, 1987; Sundstrom, 1999). By devolving decision rights and freeing teams to determine how best to achieve goals in their own innovative way, leaders unlock hidden wells of motivation.

At one global engineering firm I consulted for, the CEO made autonomous, cross-functional project teams the bedrock of operations. This overturned a previous paradigm of rigid vertical silos and marathon approval processes. Teams were given full P&L accountability for their projects and wide berth to experiment. The results were striking - productivity skyrocketed, new products hit the market 50% faster, and employees reported unprecedented job satisfaction. Best of all, the culture of empowerment and entrepreneurship infused innovation throughout the once change-averse organization. Teams constantly learned from and inspired each other, pooling resources to take on ever-larger challenges. Unleashing intrinsic motivation in this way supercharged the company for years to come.

Psychological Safety Unlocks Creativity

For autonomous teams to thrive, individuals must feel empowered to speak up, challenge assumptions, and even fail - all without fear of punishment or reprisal. This environment of psychological safety is arguably the most crucial factor for innovation according to top researchers (Edmondson, 1999; Kahn, 1990). When people are afraid to take risks, make mistakes, or offer dissenting views, creativity grinds to a halt. Command-and-control leadership styles that prioritize obedience over original thinking directly undermine safety.

At an advertising agency I partnered with, the new CEO took radical steps to foster safety after noticing brainstorming sessions had devolved into consensus-seeking echo chambers. He removed all executives from creative review meetings to eliminate rank-driven inhibitions. Critics were chosen confidentially and anonymously to encourage honest feedback. Trial-and-error was openly celebrated as just “part of the process.” Within months, employees were visibly more engaged, willing to “put it all on the table.” New business poured in as campaigns took bold, Rule-breaking forms. The CEO had made it socially safe to potentially offend in the service of breakthrough ideas - and it paid off tenfold for clients and bottom line alike.

The Empowering Leader as Coach and Champion

While empowering systems and cultures are critical for innovation at scale, the individual behaviors of leaders also play a key role. Research shows transformative leaders operate as coaches to develop people’s strengths while also advocating on their behalf (Avolio & Gibbons, 1988; Burgess & Bates, 2009). Below are three traits exemplary empowering leaders exhibit on a daily basis:

• Coaching – Make ongoing development a top priority through challenging assignments, critical feedback, role modeling, and clear objectives. View coaching as the core of the job rather than an “extra.”

• Shielding – Shield teams and individuals from distractions and undue interference. Advocate passionately for resources and runway needed to break new ground.

• Cheerleading – Give public and sincere appreciation and recognition for strengths, efforts and “swings for the fence,” even in the face of honest mistakes or failures along the way. Praise the courage it takes to innovate.

These coaching behaviors are particularly crucial for female and minority leaders, whose authority tends not to be automatically granted, in cultivating psychological safety and empowerment on diverse teams (Ely et al., 2011). Those who follow this model as a daily leadership discipline find their most ambitious goals met with enthusiasm rather than resistance or fear.

Applying Empowerment Principles in Practice

While empowering leadership seems straightforward in theory, successfully implementing its principles within legacy cultures accustomed to strictly defined rules and roles takes thoughtful planning and patience. Here are some recommendations based on my 15+ years of experience partnering with leadership teams:

• Begin with pilots – Test new empowerment-focused systems on ambitious-yet-contained initiatives or with volunteer high-potential teams willing to disrupt the status quo. As early successes spread, new norms will emerge.

• Coach up – Equip existing managers with techniques to cultivate safety, autonomy, coaching habits. Leader empowerment is a journey - help gradually transition command styles through empathetic feedback.

• Over-communicate – Make your empowerment philosophy, language, and expectations extremely clear. Give all-hands real examples of struggles and triumphs throughout pilots. Transparency builds understanding.

• Decentralize formal authority - Shift KPIs and incentives away from micromanaged targets toward team autonomy, continuous improvement, creative problem-solving. Give objective data to those closest to problems.

• Keep the faith - Large-scale culture change is a marathon, not a sprint. Slow progress is still progress - stay focused on the destination and keep rallying your organization behind it through good times and inevitable growing pains.

Conclusion

Our world demands ever-greater agility, coordination of complex systems, and out-of-the-box thinking from organizations. Leaders who empower their people to discover their full potential and bring it to bear on challenges have a profound competitive advantage. Though the command-and-control paradigm still prevails in many industries, organizations that make empowerment their core philosophy find revenues, growth rates, innovation, and employee engagement consistently outstrip industry peers. Leaders gifted in developing talent, granting autonomy, cultivating psychological safety, and coaching for success across their teams will drive success for many years to come. Empowering others is truly the hallmark of great and transformative leadership.

References

• Gebert, D., Boerner, S., & Kearney, E. (2006). Cross-functionality and innovation in new product development teams: A dilemmatic structure and its consequences for the management of diversity. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 15(4), 431–458. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320600915543

• Manz, C. C., & Sims, H. P. (1987). Leading workers to lead themselves: The external leadership of self-managing work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 32(1), 106–129. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392715

• Sundstrom, E. (1999). Supporting Work Team Effectiveness: Best Management Practices for Fostering High Performance. Jossey-Bass.

• Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999

• Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692–724. https://doi.org/10.5465/256287

• Avolio, B. J., & Gibbons, T. C. (1988). Developing Transformational Leaders: A Life Span Approach. In J. A. Conger & R. N. Kanungo (Eds.), Charismatic Leadership: The Elusive Factor in Organizational Effectiveness (pp. 276–308). Jossey-Bass.

• Burgess, Z., & Bates, D. (2009).coach's role in unleashing empowered, self-motivated performance. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 7(1), 16-30.

• Ely, R. J., Ibarra, H., & Kolb, D. M. (2011). Taking gender into account: Theory and design for women’s leadership development programs. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(3), 474–493. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2010.0046

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Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.

Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2024). Beyond Command and Control: Empowering Leaders Build Capability and Drive Innovation. Human Capital Leadership Review, 13(3). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.13.3.8