Leaders who empower others appear, from what I've observed, to have gained more power through this sharing process. The second primary reason I have observed is they have become introspective in their own right. They try it because quality seems to be the right thing to do. They are people who get excited about new ideas and seek out the best methods of running their organizations. Government has not experienced the kinds of crises that the private sector has had to endure.
Employees watch their leaders more closely than anyone imagines.
Employees key in on the negative as well as the positive things they do. Bosses set the tone and pace of the workplace. If the boss uses fear to suppress creative behavior it may be years before an idea surfaces again in their organization. On the other hand, bosses who encourage their employees to think and be creative are surprised at the results. Although implementing quality improvement methods is in the interest of all employees, the fear that permeates governmental organizations and the lack of power employees have makes it a mean trick to say that the quality revolution will start within the ranks of front line workers and their unions.