Empowering the individual at work: the active role of the manager as seen through the triangular model of responsibility[Responsabilisation de l’individu au travail : le rôle actif du manager lu par le modèle triangulaire de responsabilité]

Individual responsibility enactment by employees is a challenge for any work organization, which needs predictable behavior and individuals capable of accounting for their actions if its activities are to be efficient. In the context of role theory, an employee's predictable behavior is the result of a process of mutual influences with his or her manager. This article explores operational leeway for managers to promote the exercise of responsibility by their employees, a subject that has been the subject of little empirical research. Our research is based on the triangle model of responsibility set by Schlenker et al. and proposes it as an operational model for managerial practices. A multiple case study is presented, with 14 situations reported by managers in which employees perform their responsibilities. The intra-case analysis framework enables an analysis of the constituent elements of a situation of responsibility, for a retrospective reading of situations in which responsibility has actually been exercised ('completed' situations). The bottom-up process of generalization and the top-down process of specification reveal action strategies and operating modes that install or reinforce the prerequisites of a successful situation of responsibility. We propose an instrumental approach and a conceptual enrichment of the triangular model of responsibility. While our results show that managers have an active role to play in supporting the process of empowerment at work, they do not seek to understand the active role of the employee, paving the way for further work.