Law of Empowerment – only secure leaders give power to others.
To lead well, we must help others achieve their potential. Contrary to the common belief that empowering subordinates makes yourself dispensable, continually growing the leadership of others makes you more indispensable. Empowerment is about developing leadership in others, encouraging others, providing resources, imparting responsibility, and granting authority to act. Henry Ford and, subsequently, Henry Ford II are examples of undermining employees' leadership abilities, thus causing Ford Motor Company to languish with subpar growth for decades, continually losing its high-level executives. President Theodore Roosevelt noted, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
Humans have a natural drive to gain power over others and a propensity to keep it. Too often, people build themselves up at the expense of others, exhibiting the scarcity mindset. Maxwell contends the opposite, noting, “Pushing people down takes you down with them. Lifting others up lifts you up.” Leadership analysts McFarland, Senn, and Childress describe this as the “empowerment leadership model shifts away from ‘position power’ to ‘people power’ within which all people are given leadership roles so they can contribute to their fullest capacity.” Henry Ford and, subsequently, Henry Ford II are examples of undermining employees' leadership abilities, thus causing Ford Motor Company to languish with subpar growth for decades, continually losing its high-level executives. When empowerment is neglected or unattainable, barriers are subsequently created within an organization, and these barriers cause people to give up, often seeking employment elsewhere. The following are three barriers to empowerment:
1. Desire for Job Security – “The greatest enemy of empowerment is the fear of losing what we have,” Maxwell points out. This is the fear of becoming dispensable or unnecessary, but Maxwell contends that consistently developing leaders from those around you only strengthens your position, making you more indispensable.
2. Resistance to Change – John Steinbeck summarizes this well, saying, “It is the nature of man as he grows older… to protest against change, particularly change for the better.” Most are resistant to change and often fear it. Encouraging growth, progress, and consistent renewal, empowerment essentially brings constant change, i.e. the price of progress. Change is the Price of Progress.
3. Lack of Self-Worth – Adlai Stevenson quipped, “You can’t lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.” Great leaders are never self-conscious. Lacking self-esteem is a feeling of powerlessness, and those without power cannot empower others. Admiral Stockdale noted that “great leaders gain authority by giving it away.”
The Law of the Picture – People Do What People See
Good leaders must consistently set an example of behavior and performance, both mentally and physically. “In general, the better the leaders’ actions, the better their people’s.” Dick Winters, considered by many to be “the best combat leader in World War II” was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross because he always led from the front, often risking his life to exemplify to his troops the performance and commitment expected. Followers need to see a clear picture of expectations from leadership, especially in difficult times. When leaders exhibit this living picture, followers gain renewed energy and motivation.
Maxwell points out that “great leaders always seem to embody two seemingly disparate qualities. They are both highly visionary and highly practical.” Leaders must establish the why, what, and how of the organization. And this is through the Mission (purpose), Vision (picture), and Strategy (plan). Leaders must clearly communicate and model this vision through action, creating the ‘picture’ for the team. Maxwell summarizes this well, stating that “leaders can afford to be uncertain, but we cannot afford to be unclear.” In pursuit of being of good example, remember the following:
1. The People You Lead Are Always Watching What You Do – just as a child is forever watching a parents behavior, so are followers observing leaders actions. Maxwell notes “follwers may doubt what their leaders say, but they usually believe what they do.”
2. It’s Easier to Teach What’s Right than to Do What’s Right – the members of your team must see their leaders walk the walk, setting a good example with their best work. As author Norma Vincent Peale quipped, “Nothing is more confusing than people who give good advice but set a bad example.”
3. We Should Work on Changing Ourselves before trying to Improve Others – if you cannot lead yourself, then why expect others to follow you? We must first correct and align our behavior with our beliefs. “As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me,” Maxwell states. Only through properly leading yourself can you attempt to be the agent of change for a group.
4. The Most Valuable Gift a Leader Can Give is Being a Good Example – Always strive to correct example for the people you wish to lead. In fact, “Leading by Example” was surveyed as the most important leadership trait to possess.
The Law of Buy-in – People buy into the leader, then the vision
Often we think of leaders as merely attracting followers because they align with the cause, but the opposite is, in fact, true. “People don’t at first follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote causes they can believe in.” Maxwell uses Gandhi as a prime example which he was able to change the people of India’s vision from one of violent rebellion against the British establishment to a tactic of nonviolent civil disobedience. To coalesce in such an opposite reaction to oppression, the people first believed in his leadership and witnessed his behavior, then aligned faithfully with his vision of nonviolence. Maxwell summarizes with “The leader finds the dream and then the people. The people find the leader, and then the dream.”
A leader must be credible because the message delivered to the people is filtered by the messenger. And the leader is inseparable from the cause; thus, you buy into the leader to buy into the vision. If you don’t buy into the leader but do the vision, the result is to find another leader. Having great vision, a worthy cause, is not enough, you have to gain buy-in from the people. You must prove you can take them where they want to go.
The Law of Victory – Leaders Find Ways for the Team to Win
The greatest leaders are those that have never accepted defeat, winning at almost any cost. For the great benefit of the world, Churchill and Rosevelt understood this during World War II. See a world that would be so bleak if Hitler achieved his goal, there was no alternative to Victory.
Leaders recognize that victory is possible with these three factors:
1. Unity of Vision – only with a common, shared vision by the entire business can success be achieved.
2. Diversity of Skills – a business or team is the sum of its parts. With individuals possessing different strengths, the accumulation increases the likeliness of success.
3. A Leader Dedicated to Victory and Raising Players to Their Potential – talented leadership must be combined with talented team members. A leader must nurture the team, providing motivation, empowerment, and direction.
The success of a team must be personal to the leader. Taking responsibility and remaining committed must be higher than anyone else on the team.
The Law of the Big Mo – Momentum is a Leader’s Best Friend
Even if you have all the skills, the right people, and tools, yet can’t get things progressing, the group is destined to fail. Maxwell states simply “if you can’t get things going, you will not succeed.” Often momentum is the difference between winnig and losing. Without momentum, the small tasks grow large, problems seem insurmountable, and morale suffers. But with momentum, the opposite is true. Problems feel small, tasks seem easy, and the future is exciting. To be successful, a leader must learn to foster momentum and reap the most from it. First, know the following:
1. Momentum is the great exaggerator – Momentum may be most evident in sports. Very quickly, the viewers can see and feel the momentum as it builds by a team. And when momentum dies, a team seems to do nothing correctly, making no progress. Maxwell says, “Momentum is like a magnifying glass; it makes things look bigger than they really are.”
2. Momentum makes Leaders look better than they are – People’s perspective of a leader changes when they have momentum, looking past mistakes and shortcomings. With momentum at their backs, leaders can look like geniuses, often given more credit than they deserve.
3. Momentum helps Followers Perform Better than they are – when momentum is strong, team members have increased motivation to perform at higher levels.
4. Momentum is Easier to Steer than to Start – much like waterskiing, it can be a struggle to get started, but once you’re moving, you can do great things with less effort.
5. Momentum is the most powerful change agent – when an organization has great momentum, it is much easier to make changes. Maxwell summarizes with “People like to get on the winning bandwagon. They accept changes from people who have led them to victory before.”
6. Momentum is the Leader’s Responsibility - the team can catch the momentum, but the leader was create it with vision, strategy, assembling a good team, and motivating others.
7. Momentum begins inside the leader – it begins within the leaders, and “starts with vision, passion, and enthusiasm. If you model enthusiasm to your people day in and day out, attract like-minded people to your team, and motivate them to achieve, you will begin to see forward progress.”
