LEADERSHIP LAWS - #12/21 : The Law of Empowerment

Only Secure Leaders Give Power to Others

If you want to be successful, you have to be willing to empower others.
Theodore Roosevelt once said: “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
When leaders fail to empower others, it is usually due to three main reasons:
 
1) Desire for Job Security – The number one enemy of empowerment is the fear of losing what we have. Weak leaders worry that if they help subordinates, they themselves will become dispensable. Rather they should realize that if the teams they lead always seem to succeed, people will figure out that they are leading them well.
 
2) Resistance to Change – Most people don’t like change. As a leader, you must train yourself to embrace change, to desire it, to make a way for it. Effective leaders are not only willing to change; they become change agents.
 
3) Lack of Self-Worth – Self-conscious people are rarely good leaders. They focus on themselves, worrying how they look, what others think, whether they are liked. They can’t give power to others because they feel that they have no power themselves. The best leaders have a strong self-worth. They believe in themselves, their mission and their people.
Strange as it sounds, great leaders gain authority by giving it away. If you aspire to be a great leader, you must live by the Law of Empowerment.

STORY

Abraham Lincoln.  As President he had the security to appoint a cabinet composed of some of his strongest opponents.  One of his biographers put it this way: "Lincoln wanted the advice of men as strong as himself or stronger".  As he led the Northern states through the Civil War, Lincoln truly empowered his generals.  When he appointed General George G. Meade to an important command position he sent him the following message:
"Considering the circumstances, no one ever received a more important command; and I cannot doubt that you will fully justify the confidence which the Government has reposed in you.  You will not be hampered by any minute instructions from these headquarters.  Your army is free to act as you may deem proper under the circumstances as they arise... All forces within the sphere of your operations will be held subject to your orders".