What does it mean to empower your team to make good decisions? Chris Seifert tells Kevin that empowerment is more than a buzzword, it requires leaders to build both the competence and confidence of their team. Chris shares his decision-making framework designed to address two critical organizational issues: poor root cause analysis and ineffective decision-making in complex environments. Through real-world examples, Chris reveals how clear "decision rights" can transform organizations, empowering teams while enabling leaders to focus on strategic priorities. He also shares that it’s important to document the decision-making process to prevent hindsight bias or the curse of knowledge.

Listen For

00:00 Introduction 02:27 Empowerment and Shared Leadership Overview 03:26 Chris’s Career Background 05:18 Challenges in Root Cause Analysis and Decision-Making 06:00 Defining Empowerment 07:12 Building an Engaged Workforce 08:46 Addressing Micromanagement and Codependency 10:08 Disconnect Between Empowerment Goals and Execution 12:10 Micromanagement Doom Loop Explanation 16:12 Importance of Confidence and Competence in Decision-Making 19:26 Decision Rights and Guardrails for Leaders 22:01 Empowerment Through Incremental Decision-Making Authority 24:12 Documenting Decisions: "Show Your Work" 25:54 Decision Traps: Hindsight Bias and Learning from Decisions 26:54 Decision Traps: Curse of Knowledge 28:30 Leadership Challenges with Decision Execution 29:49 Chris’s Hobbies: Fishing and Volunteer Firefighting 30:24 Books Chris is Reading: Mindware and Thinking, Fast and Slow 31:09 Where to Learn More About Chris and His Work

Chris' Story: Chris Seifert is the author of Enabling Empowerment: A Leadership Playbook for Ending Micromanagement and Empowering Decision Makers. He is the founder of Enabling Empowerment, an initiative dedicated to transforming organizational leadership and enhancing team performance. With over 20 years of experience in manufacturing operations and strategic advisory, Chris’s mission is to empower leaders to elevate their organizations and teams through innovative strategies and methodologies. Chris’s notable achievements include leading a renewable energy company through significant growth, expanding revenue from $450 million to $1 billion, increasing plant production by over 200%, and delivering over $300 million in EBITDA improvements. He also founded a successful Operational Excellence Practice at Wilson Perumal and Company serving clients across North America and Europe. His extensive background as a decorated Naval Officer further underscores his strategic expertise and commitment to excellence.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherseifert/

https://enablingempowerment.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@EnablingEmpowerment 

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Flexible Leadership is every leader’s guide to greater success in a world of increasing complexity and chaos. 

Book Recommendations

• Enabling Empowerment: A Leadership Playbook for Ending Micromanagement and Empowering Decision-Makers by Chris Seifert 
• Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking by Richard E. Nisbett
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman 

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