Leadership and Empowerment
"Empowerment is all about Letting Go so that others can Get Going". - Ken Blanchard
The other day I was reading one of Ken Blanchard's many books that he has out on the market about leadership and came across this quote is his book called, "The One Minute Manager Builds High Performing Teams". For some reason this quote really stuck out to me and got my mind thinking about a great deal of things. When it was all said and done I asked myself these two questions, 1. In my leadership style, is this something that I can see coming to fruition in the lives of those that I am leading and 2. How does this apply to my own life.
Too many times in my life I have seen leaders that feel they need to keep a tight grip on every area around them because they feel entitled due to their position or title. This is why we call a micro-manager. All though some micro managers may do this for good cause, I don't always think that they realize how much of a hinderance that they are creating. These types of leaders feel that they are creating "accountability" within their workplace when in reality, all they are doing is creating more restrictions and hindering their teams creativity. When those below us who we are leading, rise to the occasion and achieve great success, it should not pose a threat to us as the leader. As a leader we should take pride in the accomplishments of those we oversee. Too many times this is where pride comes into play and as leaders we feel threatened by those below us and feel a need to smother them with tedious tasks. That is why I am a huge advocate of Blanchard's quote at the beginning of this post. When we as leaders empower people to achieve their dreams and goals, the possibilities are endless.
This takes me into my second question. How would our personal lives differ if we were able to let go of what was personally holding us back to get things going? Too many times we find ourselves holding on to the different things in our lives which hold us back from reaching that next step in life. All of us have the great opportunity to achieve great things in this lifetime but we find ourselves holding on to the different crutches in our life.
So wether you are a leader or someone is being led, imagine what your life would look life if you started to let go so that others could get going! What would your life and team look like as a leader if you exercised humility and gave others the chance to experience greatness? As leaders we don't always have to take all the credit. Enjoy the success of the team and release people their own strengths and creativity and see what doors begin to open for all involved!
What are some ways that you have seen this take place throughout your own personal experience.
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