The customer is waiting for the “manager isn’t here”, and when he gets there, becomes extremely irritated.

They see it as a stalling technique and is more likely to require more costly remedies for the problem the customer has.

It’s a no-win situation for a manager that wants to portray that they are in control.

Far better to hand over control at the sharp end, by fully empowering employees to make the best decisions – and fast.

Many managers do this without even thinking.

They need to know that they will be far better in their own job when they give their people the ability to decide for themselves the actions to take.

Most decisions that are to be made, when the customer is in your face, demand immediate resolution.

And those who are nearest to the action, are usually the best to be empowered to take the quick decisions necessary.

If employees don’t develop the understanding that they are empowered to do what they can with the freedom that provides, they will always ‘pass the monkey’ back to the manager.

That way they can get off making a decision and risk less.

If a manager makes all the top decisions and involves his people as a minimum, they will do as they’re told, collect their regular salary slip and do only what’s asked of them.

Look, managers are not perfect in every way – they cannot fix everything in their business on their own; it’s their ability to get the most from their people that makes the difference.

Any employee will grow and develop hugely when given responsibility – empowering them to act and make decisions is a great way forward for them.

And when a manager says, ‘Look, do your best and I’ll always support you’, they will take risks at just the right level for them.

This is precisely the way that the very best managers gradually release what they do into the increasingly capable hands of members of their team.