Empowerment and team development

Based on the four principles of self‐organization formulated by Morgan (1986), a four‐stage implementation model for empowering teams was developed. From the first to the last stage, the attention shifts from routine tasks to non‐routine tasks, from the individual to the group, and from inwards oriented to outwards directed activities. This model was used to develop five teams in an industrial glass producing firm. After two years, team progress was measured by means of a questionnaire and the results were discussed with each team. These data were used to evaluate the viability and applicability of the empowerment plan and to find relevant factors which facilitate or hinder the empowerment process. The results indicate that the step‐by‐step plan facilitates the development of empowered teams but that it should not be seen necessarily as the best or the only way of empowering working groups. Moreover, the attitude and style of management, the team cohesion and the nature of the work involved seem to interfere with team empowerment.