Empowering gives responsibility and recognition but must be done on basis of a framework where progress can be effectively reviewed.
Folks put in more effort when they see a path towards the recognition. Recognition is given to folks who drive results; hence empowerment enables individuals to drive results. This means greater responsibility for the individual being empowered and hence must be based on a framework where effectiveness of the work rate from increased responsibility is reviewed and feedback provided on a continuous basis to course correct.
You can work with the employee to set goals where after goals are achieved a person gets additional responsibilities to mentor and lead.
Other examples are empowerment to orchestrate execution of large project that involves various groups. In such cases work typically involves creating a path between teams to reach agreement on decisions, getting clear requirements, training teams and staying on top of planned timelines. Folks empowered to run these projects should be provided continuous feedback to course correct as needed. Progress should be consistently reviewed so that timelines are not missed. In such cases the leader should be ready to step in as needed to help overcome obstacles. This is a great approach towards creating future leaders and in driving results.