The Need for Empowerment to Multiply the Leader's Effectiveness

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

(Proverbs 16:18)

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

(Philippians 2:3)

Ronald Reagan kept a sign on his Oval Office desk that read: "There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit." That maxim (or others of very similar wording) has been attributed to a number of people including Benjamin Jowett, Florence Luscomb, Mark Twain, Robert Woodruff, Harry S. Truman and General George C. Marshall. The original author obviously shares the credit with others!  John Maxwell carried the saying a step farther: “I believe the greatest things happen only when you give others the credit.”^[1] The secret to empowerment is in finding strong leaders (or potentially strong leaders) to empower.

Only secure leaders can give empowerment to others. 

Empowerment requires risk on the part of the leader.  Barriers to empowerment include the desire for job security, resistance to change and lack of self-worth.  By contrast, secure leaders give themselves away as they empower others. 

Pride and Fear—two sides of the same coin^[2]

I mentioned the problem of pride in a previous article. Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges point out that pride and fear are really just two sides of the same coin. Both Pride and Fear are centered around Self or EGO.

Pride promotes self due to an exaggerated sense of self-worth (Arrogance) as evidenced by:

·         Boasting

·         Taking all the credit

·         Exalting oneself

·         Always talking

·         Demanding all the attention

Fear protects self due to insecurity about the future as can be seen in such behaviors as:

·         Abusing the authority of position

·         Withholding information

·         Imposing oneself on others

·         Always taking control

·         Unable to take suggestions.

Overcoming ego is probably the biggest barrier to effective leadership. 

The most effective leaders learn to replace self or ego with a servant attitude. In humility, the servant-leader:

·         Gives up personal rights

·         Bases decisions on the truth, instead of distortions.

·         Maintains transparent relationships, instead of isolation.

·         Believes in community, instead of destructive competition, to become more effective.^[3]

Hint to the Leader

            How does your ego show itself more often—through Pride or Fear? Are you promoting yourself or protecting yourself?  Ask yourself this question: “Who am I really exalting with my attitudes and actions?”  Are you willing to let someone else receive any credit and only God receive any glory?

Hint to the Follower

How many times do you find yourself saying, “I could do a better job than they are doing”? Ask yourself, “Am I willing to help them do a better job, even if I don’t receive the credit?”

If none of this sounds easy, it’s because it isn’t! You have to work at this every day.

© Dr. Larry N. Gay

 January 2010

 http://mylead360.blogspot.com/ 

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[1] John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998), 127.

[2] The concepts presented here on Fear, Pride and Ego are adapted from Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges, Lead Like Jesus: Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of All Time. Nashville: W Publishing Group, 2005.

[3] For more information on Lead Like Jesus and the “Lead Like Jesus Encounter” contact the author at MyLEAD360@gmail.com   or  go to  http://leadlikejesus.com/.