Empowerment....

Why is the concept of 'give a man a fish... / teach a man to fish...' so foreign in the business world?

I forget sometimes that we're all working from different playbooks. There's the one where upper management says "we're all one big happy family" and we believe it. Then there's the one they're working from that says "Me King and you not King".

I've been doing IT work for quite some time - I'd like to think that I've gotten pretty good at it. One thing I try to do is show other people how to solve problems for themselves - the simple ones like 'change printer toner' and/or 'how do I work the "thingy"?' 'Thingy' in this context can mean paper shredder, printer, copier or fax machine.

Sometimes, you get fed a page from the un-discussed playbook. A manager has been saying 'we're all one big team' and 'we're all empowered' and then you get the call...come change the toner. I do my thing, get the toner and then ask "would you like to see how to do it?"

"No...thanks."

In the space of those two words is a large, unspoken pause. You have had to have worked here for a long time to know what it means. Perhaps it sounds alarmist, but where I work, you develop a fine-tuned sense of when you're about to put your foot in the bear trap. I said nothing more - changed the Cyan toner on a color printer and went about my day. I wish I could say I let it go but I spent quite a bit of time reviewing what I did, wondering if it meant I was going to get dinged in some subtle way from this guy.

I wish I understood how it worked but for now it seems very arbitrary. You're empowered insofar as being empowered means doing what you want to do. This doesn't extend to the dirty work you think is beneath you.