Empowerment – Soaring Above Others

“Let me pass, I have to follow them, I am their leader.” – Alexandre Ledru-Rollin

I love this quote! Leaders all over, wish they had this problem. Great leaders develop and empower the people around so that the leader can watch the accomplishments of those around them and be there when they need help. The leader is not there to dictate every little move others make, but there to help them see the big picture and priorities.

Ken Blanchard talks about empowerment in terms of ducks and eagles. Great leadership produces eagles because they can soar above everyone else. Bad leadership produces ducks because they only “quack” what they are told.

Are those around you quacking or soaring?

Leading By Ego

One area in leadership that I probably struggle with most is with my EGO. It seems everytime I let my ego get in the way it is because I want something without considering what it could do for others. I want to lift myself up without lifting others up.

Is leading by Ego the best way? Yes, we want to be successful, but at what cost? I believe full heartly that ego can lead to success in the short-term but like the leaders of Enron and Arthur Anderson it can catch up to you. we can only fill our ego for so long before it needs more. One of the questions I continue to ask myself to keep my ego in check is, “Am I here to be served or to serve?” This question is one of the keys that Ken Blanchard writes about in his book “Lead Like Jesus.”

Driven v. Called

I am currently reading, “Lead Like Jesus”, by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges and I found this great section about the difference between being called and driven.

Driven people think they own everything. The own their relationship, they own their possessions, and they own their position. In fact, they perceive their identity as the sum of their relationship, possesions, and position.

Called people, on the other hand, believe everything is on loan. They believe their relationships are on loan; they know that we have no gaurantee we will those we love tommrow. Called people also believe their possessions are on loan are to be held lightly, to be enjoyed and shared with an open hand.

This section of the book really made me sit back and reflect how I treat my life and the others around me.

Sometimes we just have to step off our foundation

I came across this video of Tony Dungy speaking last year at the Super Bowl Breakfast. The amazing thing about the speech is that when most people are under the spotlight they sometimes step off their foundation, but Dungy didn’t. He was open and sincere about his beliefs, something we all struggle with when are pressured to not stand out in the crowd.

As we have seen in the early 21st century with corporations like Enron, when you step off your foundation and seek for yourself you will finally fall. No matter what you believe stand firm in them. It is risk to be different, but it can also have its rewards. As a leader what will you do when you are under pressure?