Here's the thing about empowerment: everyone talks about it, companies spend money on it, but it's still not happening in most teams.

You've probably been there, sitting through workshops, getting emails about "empowering our people," maybe even seeing some policy changes. But day-to-day? People still hesitate to speak up or wait for permission to take initiative. Why? Because empowerment isn’t something you can simply hand out. It must be activated.

Psychological safety is when people feel they can take risks and make mistakes without being punished or embarrassed. In this formula, each step builds on the last, creating the conditions where people actually feel confident taking initiative.

What's missing? The actual empowerment behaviors. Most teams know how to trust each other and create psychological safety, but they don't know how to consistently empower each other to act on that foundation. We'll explore how to close that gap.

The Foundation Is Already There

The good news from our research? Most teams have solid foundations already in place. When we asked people about trust and psychological safety, the numbers were pretty encouraging.

These aren't small percentages. We're talking about the vast majority of people saying the basic building blocks are there. People generally trust their teammates and feel reasonably safe speaking up.

So, if the foundation is solid, why aren’t more teams stepping up and acting empowered? That’s the paradox. The issue isn’t a lack of trust. Something’s missing in how that trust translates into real, visible empowerment.

The Team Empowerment Skills Gap

Here's where things get interesting, and where the real problem shows up. Even though most people trust their teammates and feel psychologically safe, only 56% say their team does a good job empowering each other. That's a pretty big drop from the trust and safety numbers we just talked about.

Even more telling: 67% of people feel supported when they try to take initiative, but that support isn’t always translating into action. So, it's not that teams are actively discouraging people or creating barriers. The issue is subtler than that. Teams may trust each other, but they're missing the skills to translate support into empowered action. It's like having all the ingredients for a great meal but not knowing how to cook it.

What really stood out in our research was that trust matters more than authority, access to information, or policy change. Trust is the thing that unlocks empowerment, but most teams don't know how to leverage it effectively.

How to Close the Gap

So how do you turn existing trust and psychological safety into consistent empowerment? This is where having a clear roadmap makes all the difference.

Remember that formula from earlier: Trust → Psychological Safety → Team Empowerment Skills → Individual Initiative? Each step builds on the last, but the magic happens in that third step—turning trust and safety into actual empowerment behaviors. When people trust each other, they're more willing to have honest conversations, commit to decisions even when they don't fully agree, hold each other accountable without it feeling personal, and stay focused on results instead of getting caught up in politics.

Having a framework like The Five Behaviors^® gives teams a systematic and consistent way to build on that trust. Instead of hoping empowerment just happens, it provides practical steps to activate what's already there. Think about the difference between a team that just nods when someone shares an idea versus one that asks, "What would you need to test that?" or explicitly tells teammates "You don't need permission to try that" for small decisions.

It's about moving from "we trust each other" to "we know how to empower each other." Picture teammates who respond to mistakes with "What did we learn?" instead of blame, or who replace "Let me think about it" with "What's your recommendation and why?" when someone brings them a decision. Because at the end of the day, empowerment isn't just a feeling, it's a set of behaviors that teams can learn and practice together.

Making Team Empowerment Stick

Most organizations already have more than they think they do. The trust and psychological safety are there, you just need to know how to activate them. When you focus on trust-based empowerment instead of chasing the latest management fad, you get the innovation and initiative that actually moves the needle.

The path forward isn't about starting over. It's about building on what's working and turning those foundations into consistent, empowered action.

Wiley assessment brands lay the groundwork for cohesive teams. Specifically, The Five Behaviors learning experience offers a powerful framework for building successful teams. By fostering healthy teams across an entire organization, you can drive internal growth and retain top talent.

Wiley Workplace Intelligence conducts in-depth research on key workplace issues by gathering insights from individual contributors, managers, and leaders. Wiley Workplace Intelligence then analyzes these findings to provide actionable solutions that are shared in our blog.