He was sincere and pleasant, but he was also shy and kept to himself. He prided himself on never drawing too much attention to himself.
His style of leadership was in fact a lack of leadership, in which he left most of his employees to their own devices.
He was good man but he was not a leader, and now his company was paying a steep price.
Through coaching I had to explain what a true leader was and how empowering others is an important aspect of leadership. He asked why? “Because it changes lives,” I said.
We can map out our leadership by the ways in which we empower others:
By helping them reach new heights. As a leader you share your knowledge and your wisdom. You make a point of investing time and resources to show your people that you believe in them, and it’s a win-win situation for all. Your job is to see the potential, find out what they lack to develop it, and equip them with what they need.
By appreciating them. Everyone wants to feel that they count for something and are important to someone. People will work harder, and work more, for those who care about them, and their trust will earn you respect.
By having the right attitude. If you want to be successful at empowering people, you need to be mindful of how you show up, how you respond and react, and how you deal with conflict. Attitudes are contagious—and that fact is especially important when you’re working to empower others.
By sharing information and giving them what they need. The best leaders think about what their people need to do their jobs well. You can’t just take for granted that they have all that they need; you engage and share information and give them the knowledge and tools they need to be successful.
By modeling the way of empowerment. The best leaders let others see, hear, and experience what empowerment is. They are mindful of their attitude, their moods, and their ethics—aware that people are looking to them to set an example.
By grooming others for leadership. When you groom others you are transferring authority to them, allowing them to share in the load, and giving them opportunity to lead. In empowering them you’re ultimately working toward the day when you can hand over the baton.
Just about everyone has the potential to empower others. Start looking for opportunities today, and see your leadership grow.
Lead From Within: When you empower people, you’re influencing not only them, but also all the people they will influence in turn through their leadership. That is empowering.
N A T I O N A L B E S T S E L L E R
The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness
After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.
Additional Reading you might enjoy:
- 12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
- A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
- How to Succeed as A New Leader
- 12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
- 4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
- The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
- The Deception Trap of Leadership
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.
Ann V Deaton PhD, PCC
05. May, 2015
Brilliant, Lolly! By empowering others, the leader grows his or her own capacity as well as the team.
David Shank
05. May, 2015
Another Awesome Post Lolly!
The best leaders are always mindful. They watch. They listen. They serve. They seem to have a magical ability to anticipate the needs of others. The outcome of any task is always improved by improving the lives of those you lead/serve. The greatest tools you can bring to any job is an attitude of gratitude and a spirit of service. When I am lost as to what to do, I ask myself, “how may I serve?” The answer always comes.
Thank you for sharing your Awesomeness with us!
Temmy
05. May, 2015
Nice article, Secured leaders don’t have problem empowering others. Giving power, empowers a leader too. You get more, when you invest in others. Insecurity and ignorance are some of the things that hinder a leader from giving power. If possible, I’ll like you to highlights things that hinders a leader from giving power and how to overcome them. Thank you
Panteli Tritchew
06. May, 2015
“Empowering others is an important aspect of leadership…Because it changes lives.” There are so many leadership metrics out there, designed, developed and fine-tuned over decades of HBR MBA metrics.
Profit. Growth. Dividends. ROI. Quarterly reports. Annual reports. Bottom line. Quantifiable. Measurable. Statistical. Actuarial. Accountable. These metrics do indeed identify the Masters of Business Administration.
How leaders administer business and make the hard decisions is indeed measurable. How leaders change lives…Harvard hasn’t tackled that yet.
Thanks for tackling the softer issues…great week to you Lolly!
John S Picarello
06. May, 2015
I love how you speak to character in leadership as a priority. Regardless of the task at hand, you continue to showcase the simple principle of people at the heart of protocol and programs. This always has far reaching effects on the people we lead beyond the scope of our business. Whether we’re governing our corporation, our team, or our family, it all begins with governing ourselves.
When it comes to adding value to others the exponential effects of our leadership can extend our influence intergenerationally. Now that’s the stuff world changers are made of. Well done Lolly, And Thank you!
Leslie Heier
29. Sep, 2015
Well stated. I appreciate your additional insights driven from Lolly’s article. In a quest to challenge myself and continue to grow in leadership, I was fortunate to tap into Lolly’s wall. The depth of her articles/resources have really resonated with me and started me on a path to look at true leadership and re-build. It is not only her teaching’s but those of individuals like yourself the provide further insights. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Thank you.
Igor
06. May, 2015
Great article on one of the most important facets of effective leadership, empowering others. Nice choice in the graphic for this topic as well.
I particularly like how you describe the win-win of empowering your team, it’s not only your team that benefits it’s the leader and organization as well. In my experience, I’ve achieved significantly more for leaders that empowered me, and when leading teams enjoyed and was most successful on ones with more empowered individuals.
Thanks for sharing Lolly
Susan Mary Malone
11. May, 2015
Thank you, Lolly. I think we often forget how important our leadership is to others. Love this: When you empower people, you’re influencing not only them, but also all the people they will influence in turn through their leadership.
How true your words! That really IS empowerment!
choto chakma
11. Aug, 2015
What a true post indeed..!! After I read it, I felt a deep sense of responsibility towards my people’s empowerment. I realized that engagement and empowering others is the best tool to empower oneself. A leader is someone who understand his/her people and empowers them….empowering others will automatically influence those who are engaged with the empowered..
Thank you
Macario
03. Nov, 2015
Excellent insights. I am new in leadership role and position. But I don’t possess the character of a leader that Lolly describes in her postings and articles.
It is very uplifting to be guided by your broad leadership perspectives. Please continue to inspire me. I am disposed to fill up the empty glass of my leadership role.
Thanks Lolly.
Khalid
02. Mar, 2019
Leaders produce leaders not followers.