Leadership that transforms is leadership that empowers those around you to become leaders in their own right. Great leaders give those they are leading opportunities to grow in their leadership capacity and opportunities to succeed. The world needs more leaders who empower others . . . will you be that kind of leader?
For much of my life I have been around leaders. Most of those leaders were positive people and deeply concerned about the goals they were leading others to achieve. The leaders I have worked for and with over the years have been, for the most part, great at moving people toward a common goal . . . but often their leadership was absolutely essential for that movement to be sustained. In other words, most of the leaders I have been around are leaders who take too much upon themselves or allow too much to be placed upon them and they become the driving force in whatever endeavor they are leading.
I understand why this happens. I have a tendency–no, I can be honest: it’s a fault–to be that leader who tries to do everything, to be everywhere, to have my hand in everything that is going on in the endeavors I am leading. You, as the leader, become essential, because everyone is looking to you for answers, for guidance, for direction. And, like many leaders I know, I want things done a certain way because they goal I have in mind is very specific. My tendency is to not only do too much (which leads to my own exhaustion and frustration) but to inadvertently keep others from becoming leaders, too.
Great leaders who engage in transforming leadership don’t have to do it all, be involved in every aspect of a project, or have their hand in every single activity. Great leaders empower others to do what they could do but would rather allow someone else to do so that person’s leadership capacity can expand. What keeps many leaders–myself included–from empowering others the way I should is fear. I have identified two fears that keep leaders from empowering others and allowing leadership capacity to grow in those around them:
Fear of failure. I can admit that one of the main reasons I struggle to let go and give other leaders around me opportunities to succeed is that I fear their failure and by default, my own. I believe that they’ll do something wrong and that it will reflect poorly on me and my leadership. But the fear of failure cannot be what stops us from giving others a chance to lead. If we truly learn how to empower them, we won’t have to worry about them failing. Maybe make a few mistakes along the way, but not fail. Truly empowering others means that you’re giving them opportunities to really make a difference and if they have been trained correctly and a trustworthy, they can’t fail . . . only make mistakes they can learn from.
Lack of trust. We fear empowering others because they might fail. The fear ultimately comes back to us: We have the fear because we do not trust others the way we should. I know that I struggle to trust those around me who want to lead because I wonder if they truly have the vision in mind and if they will try as hard as I need them to try . . . I wonder about their motives and I wonder if they really are there to help me or sabotage me as a leader. For me, that’s not an irrational fear. I have experienced the kind of “help” before that had ulterior motives and an agenda. The key here is to surround yourself as a leader with people of great integrity . . . and to develop trust in them by getting to know their heart. A lack of trust will keep you from empower others and giving them opportunities to have influence.
Empowering others is a necessity for truly great leadership to occur. We need those around us that we trust–and who need opportunities to grow in their leadership–who can take tasks off our plates so that we might become more effective. To empower someone is to give them the resources, support and opportunities to lead that they need in order to become true leaders. When we surround ourselves with others that we can trust, fear of failure is no long an issue and our team becomes stronger. Indeed, when you empower others and demonstrate trust in them, they are more willing to follow your leadership because they know you believe in them, too.
Great leadership is leadership that empowers. Who will you empower today?