Which statement about empowerment and authority is true?

• A. Empowerment restricts authority to a single role.
• B. Empowerment expands authority to resolve issues for members across the team.
• C. Empowerment weakens accountability.
• D. Empowerment is unrelated to handling member issues.

Answer: (B)

Empowerment means giving people the authority and autonomy to make decisions and take action that affects their work and the work of others. When empowerment is in place, decisions about resolving issues aren’t bottlenecked by a single role; team members across the group can act to address problems quickly, coordinate with peers, and implement solutions within agreed boundaries. This expands authority beyond a narrow scope to the wider team, enabling faster resolution and a sense of ownership. Accountability remains intact, and often becomes stronger, because with greater authority comes clear responsibility for outcomes. It’s not about weakening oversight or being unrelated to handling issues—empowerment is precisely about enabling people to address issues that affect the team. So the statement that empowerment expands authority to resolve issues for members across the team best captures the concept.