Do empowerment and ownership promote organizational trust?

Do empowerment and ownership promote organizational trust?

Is it possible for a leader to empower followers while retaining ownership of a project or idea? Why or why not? Do empowerment and ownership promote organizational trust? Why or why not?

answer
Yes, it is possible for a leader to empower followers while retaining ownership of a project or idea. A leader can do this by assigning tasks that are meaningful to the project, but are not directly tied to the leader’s priorities or role. For example, if a leader is in charge of a new product launch, they can have their team work on everything from customer reviews to graphics and leave the actual launch strategy and execution up to themselves. This way, they are empowering their team while keeping their ideas and overall strategy theirs alone.

Empowerment and ownership do not promote organizational trust because they give the employees reason to mistrust their leadership. If a team has been given tasks that are important to an overarching goal, but then is consistently ignored when the time comes to make decisions about the big picture, it creates tension between management and workers. Furthermore, if a leader takes responsibility for something that goes wrong due to poor planning or communication on their part—as opposed to admitting fault—it creates even more tension.