Monday, May 23, 2011
The Law of Empowerment
In chapter 12 of the 21 irrefutable Laws of Leadership John Maxwell talks about the law of empowerment. He discusses how important it is for a leader to be secure in their position so that they can empower others. He talks about how Ford Motor company almost went out of business because Henry Ford would not empower his leaders. When his Grandson took over the company he was not secure in his position. He felt threatened by some of the older executives so he played a game of divide and concur. This action stunted the growth of the company.
I think that the most important thing that a leader can do is to know themselves. It the leader knows their strengths and weaknesses than the will know where they can help the organization and where they will hurt it if they are not careful. The leader must understand that no matter how gifted they are they cannot do it all. A leader is not a leader if they have no followers, therefore the leaders must empower others, they have to be willing to give up some power so that the organization can grow. To do this the leader must be secure in their position. The must be so secure that they are willing to train people to do their job. Some person may be able to do their job better than them, but the true leader is not threatened by this, they see it as an opportunity to grow, and to help other and the organization grow.
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Frank,
ReplyDeleteI see this empowerment as meaning “not power hungry.” By (em) powering, it is to give out from your position of power. Security within the power holder is the ability to let go of the power. This message contradicts the whole concept of being powerful, which is to have complete control. Good examples include Jesus who says to empty oneself, or Paul who empowered Titus, Timothy, Mark, and others to share the Gospel. The difficulty is not relinquishing total control, because we never had it in the first place. It is relinquishing the concept of our false security, thinking that we have that control. That kind of control is most likely manipulative at best. Power trips rise from leaders who need to have their security meter filled in their selfish, manipulative, ego-centered, narcissistic, and ungodly control. I think you hit the nail on the head with empowering as being secure without power.In application, I know you serve the Baptist church…How does this method of non-pastor controlled church work in your system? Will you go against the grain of the denomination if need be to delegate and empower others? Does that coincide with the African American cultural understanding of the head pastor?