To empower employees, supervisors must relinquish some _____ and have confidence in the skills, judgment, and abilities of others.

• A. Authority
• B. Skills
• C. Inspiration
• D. Motivation

Answer: (A)

Relinquishing authority is what enables empowerment. For managers and supervisors, giving up some decision-making power to team members lets them apply their skills and judgment in real situations. Authority is the permission to act within established policies and procedures, so when a supervisor steps back a bit, subordinates can react quickly, use their training, and take ownership of outcomes. This carries confidence because they know they are operating within clear boundaries and with support from leadership.

Skills and motivation are important, but they don’t by themselves grant the ability to act independently in the field. Skills are what people have; motivation fuels effort; but authority provides the actual permission to make choices and take actions. Inspiration and motivation can be enhanced when empowerment is practiced, but without transferring authority, decisions can stall or be delayed.

In practice, empowering a crew means delegating appropriate authority to act within policy, while the supervisor retains overall accountability for safety and results.