The Law of Empowerment
Only secure leaders give power to others
Leading well is not about enriching yourself -- it's about empowering others. Only secure leaders give power to others. Great leaders gain authority by giving it away. When a leader can't or won't empower others, they create barriers that followers cannot overcome. To push people down, you have to go down with them. The only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable by developing others who can take over your role.
- Only secure leaders give power to others
- Leading well is about empowering others, not enriching yourself
- Great leaders gain authority by giving it away
- To push people down, you have to go down with them
- The only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable
- The greatest things happen only when you give others the credit
- Overcome the desire for job securityRecognize that the number one enemy of empowerment is fear of losing what you have. Paradoxically, continually empowering others and helping them develop makes you indispensable because you become the person who consistently produces strong leaders.Pro tipIf you keep raising up leaders, you develop a pattern of achievement and excellence that will be recognized. Even if one supervisor misses it, the pattern speaks for itself.
- Embrace change as the price of progressEmpowerment brings constant change as people grow and innovate. Train yourself to embrace change, desire it, and become a change agent rather than resisting the disruption that comes with developing others.WarningIf you resist the change that empowerment brings, you will eventually stifle your best people and they will leave.
- Build self-worth to give power awayDevelop a strong sense of self-worth so you can give power to others without feeling diminished. Self-conscious leaders focus on themselves and cannot empower because they feel they have no power to give.Pro tipMark Twain said great things happen when you don't care who gets the credit. Maxwell adds that the greatest things happen only when you give others the credit.
- Give resources, authority, and responsibility -- then step backIdentify leaders, build them up, give them resources, authority, and responsibility, and then turn them loose to achieve. The best executive picks good people and has the self-restraint to keep from meddling.WarningDo not alternate between encouraging and undermining people as Henry Ford II did -- this destroys trust and drive.
Lincoln deliberately surrounded himself with all his disappointed political antagonists. One biographer described it as either surpassing naivete or tranquil confidence in his powers of leadership. When generals performed well, Lincoln gave them the credit. When they failed, he took the blame publicly.
Henry Ford I destroyed prototypes of improved car models with his bare hands because he didn't want anyone modifying the Model T. His grandson Henry Ford II continued the pattern, creating a philosophy of keeping people anxious and off-balance.
Maxwell contrasts two models of empowerment through the Ford family. Henry Ford I revolutionized the automobile industry but was so controlling that he destroyed prototypes of improved models with his bare hands and refused to let anyone modify the Model T. His grandson Henry Ford II continued the pattern, pitting top executives against each other and systematically undermining anyone who gained influence. In stark contrast, Abraham Lincoln built his cabinet from political rivals, gave generals full authority in their commands, took blame for failures, and gave credit for successes -- all because his security as a leader allowed him to practice empowerment.