“Empowerment” becomes more useful when you name the decisions a team can actually make.
What to look for
- 01
Discuss mandates using specific examples of work.
- 02
Recognize that responsibilities overlap and vary by initiative.
- 03
Avoid attaching outcome goals to a team that cannot influence the underlying decisions.
Keep in mind
The author explicitly warns that this is not a maturity model or a way to grade teams.
Try this next
Compare two recent initiatives: what was fixed, what was negotiable, and who could change the goal? Use that to clarify the next mandate.
Get the product templateNotes and exercises by Awesome CTO. The original work belongs to John Cutler.