Empowerment

Reaching new heights at Career Day

Empowerment is a strong word that I most often associate with the general business community.  Leadership programs for entrepreneurs, middle managers, and executives all talk about empowerment.  Some even focus the entire program around this one concept.  The key message is that productivity and quality will increase as managers empower their employees by allowing them to have input and control over their work. Empowerment also gives the employees the ability to openly share suggestions and ideas about their work and the organization as a whole.  In my experience, empowered employees are more accepting of change and often create needed changes within themselves and the organization.

I am fairly new to the residential treatment industry, but I find this same concept is alive and strong at Triumph Youth Services.  The big difference in the use of empowerment at Triumph is that the clients and the staff are both the focus of empowerment.  It can be seen in the Mission Statement, the Philosophy and models like Positive Peer Culture (PPC).  It is great that these young boys are getting training that will not only help them in their lives, but their careers!

Check out this article that had a section on empowerment and how parents play an important role in empowering their sons for true change:

Empower True Change

True change comes not by force or coercion, but by your teen acquiring and applying five important powers in their life. These powers are briefly explained below.

Empower Responsibility: One of the first signs parents should look for in their child’s growth is an awareness and honest admission of responsibility. You should promote openness and trust in your child so that they can feel empowered to take responsibility for their program. Remember that blaming, fault-finding, and rescuing diminish your child’s ability to be honest and take responsibility for accepting help from others. You can empower your child by modeling honesty and kindness and understanding. Every day in denial is a wasted day.

Empower Resolution: Successful parents empower courage to make commitments and resolutions. Most children fail to make resolutions because they lack hope, vision, and trust in themselves and others. Successful parents see problems or mismanagement of behavior as opportunities for growth, not reasons to despair or condemn. They model their own willingness to recognize and admit their weaknesses and mistakes, and they expect their child to do the same. Express love and hope and confidence in your child during treatment. Act in ways that give your child hope and self-confidence.

Empower Action: True change takes courage and persistence. You should genuinely praise your child for the little improvements that they make. Watch for changes in negative attitudes, beliefs, and thinking; for greater control of impulsivity and self-defeating behaviors; for more positive relationships with peers, staff, and your family. You will know that real change is occurring when your child is able to consistently manage their own problems in the treatment environment, and you will know that they are getting close to discharge when they can sustain self-mastery. Do not expect perfection or adult behavior. Remember that your teen is an adolescent, and even the best do not always act rationally.

Empower Healing: Your child needs to heal from the pain and guilt of the past. So do you. Healing comes through talking through issues, listening in a non-judgmental way, and expressing forgiveness and love. Your child and you need to ask for forgiveness of those you have offended and need to forgive each other for offenses committed. Your child will not heal fully if they do not go through the stages of healing, and if they do not make realistic amends for what they have done. Simply saying, “I’m sorry” often is not enough, nor will sweeping past pain under the emotional rug resolve the issues.

Empowering Endurance: Successful parents work closely with their staff and child in preparing a transition plan back home. They commit themselves, along with their child, to recovery, and they make a joint plan of action to sustain new skills and growth. They help their child to have a realistic and meaningful lifestyle for future living. They insist on positive boundaries and limits and the respect of parental authority. They help assemble a positive support team for their child. They also make any changes in their family behavior that would be harmful to their child’s full recovery when they return.

Article by By Stephen G. Biddulph, M.A.:
http://natsap.org/for-parents/articles/maximizing-the-outcome-of-residential-treatment/