“Give Power – Gain Power “
I have always told participants in my leadership development workshops (as well as my kids), that how you treat others is like a boomerang… what you throw out there will come back to you.
When I had the opportunity to travel to Australia last year, (which was awesome, by the way), what do you suppose I brought back as a souvenir? Yep, you guessed it, a beautiful handcrafted boomerang! It sits on my desk as a reminder to be conscious of the way that I treat others.
Successful leaders understand this principle and practice it daily with their team members. Successful leaders also know that they actually become more powerful when they give power away. We have all been conditioned to believe that power is available in a limited quantity: If I have more, you have less. Naturally those who believe this tend to hoard the power that they think they have and are reluctant to share it with anyone.
But experience – with lots of research to back it up – shows that the more control you give employees over their work environment and the more you ask for their input on decisions that affect them, the more productive and effective they will be.
As a leader, when you share power with others, you are demonstrating your trust and confidence in their abilities and skills. Help others to grow and develop, and that help will be returned to you. Your team members will feel committed, engaged, and loyal to you and to the organization. In other words, they will feel a sense of “ownership” in their jobs.
Hoard your power, refuse to allow employees to have any say in their work, or control their every move, and you will wind up with employees who may comply with your demands – at best. They may comply, (in order to keep their jobs), but they won’t be dedicated or committed to you or the team.
As a team member, when you are open and receptive to the input and suggestions of your co-workers, you will be demonstrating your respect for their ideas and strengthening the work relationship. And, like a boomerang, you can expect that respect to come back to you.
I believe that respect is a form of power. If you want to be respected, you must be respectful of others. And here’s the kicker: Be respectful of others, regardless of their title or yours. You will have that power/respect reciprocated, possibly even doubled.
Some people have a negative connotation of power. This is probably because they’ve had experience with someone who abused their power. If we think of power in terms of respect, then we can never abuse our power. Power, when misused, becomes manipulation, and that is never productive.
To be a true leader, regardless of your title or position, just remember my boomerang theory. What you throw out there will come back to you…If you throw out control over others, disrespect, and manipulation, that’s what you will have reciprocated. But if you treat others with respect, openness, and trust, then you will enjoy having those qualities returned to you, often two-fold.
Give Power – Gain Power!
Jennifer Ledet has helped hundreds of organizations transform their businesses from the inside out. Through her Leadership Development and Teambuilding Training, Jennifer teaches organizations and individuals the power of self-understanding to help them achieve their maximum potential and improve the bottom line. To receive (FREE!) monthly tips on developing your People Power!, becoming a better leader, team member, and communicator, go to www.ledetmanagement.com .
