L.E.a.d.e.r.

In concluding on letter "L"*, I mentioned the need to be empathetic. This could very well be what the first letter "E" in the word "Leader" stands for but I'd rather cover this in the 2nd "E" - so stay tuned.

L.E.a.d.e.r

Hello, how were your first 2 weeks. Trust your Listening Skills improved & paid off too.

Now on to the 2nd letter in the word - "E" - and you would most likely have guessed, it stands for "Empower." Interestingly, the word this blog is centred around.

The first thing about empowering others is the willingness to let go. When we empower others, it shows that we have confidence in at least 2 people. First, it shows that we have confidence in ourselves - that we have coached, mentored, taught and/or shown people how to do the things we're asking them to do. Secondly, it shows that we have confidence in the individual(s) - that the person has the ability to do what as been asked in possibly a different and/or better way.

When you empower others, it frees you up to do other things - that may be of more interest or importance to you. The example that comes to mind is when you empower others to run reports and maybe facilitate meetings, it frees you up from Process monitoring to People management.

Like John Maxwell puts it, empowering others is the secret and key to greatness...keep empowering.