Controlling vs Empowering Leadership

The function of LEADERSHIP is to produce more leaders, not more followers. Although leaders have a vision and ability to make that vision a reality, they differ in the means and tactics they use to accomplish that vision. James MacGregor Burns, in his classic book Leadership, indicated that there are two types of leaders: Those who lead through control and coercion; and those who lead by inspiring and empowering others. You want to be in the latter group, because that is the effective approach.

Let’s focus on some of the characteristics of an empowering leader since that is what we want to be.

• Empowerers are people who accomplish their objectives by creating an environment that elicits the internal motivation and commitment of those they lead.
• They view the people they lead as capable human beings with their own will, feelings and opinions.
• They seek mutually beneficial goals and even seek to raise those they lead to higher levels of motivation, behavior and even morality.
• These leaders, according to Burns, judge their effectiveness not by press clippings, but by actual social change or the transformation of individual and organizational attitudes and behaviors.

As leaders, to empower those you lead, establish the boundaries and encourage people to be self governing in how they execute within the boundaries. To put it simply, the leader defines the “what” and the people decide the “how” for themselves. This approach is a whole lot better than issuing directives. Some elements that define the boundaries within which people are expected to work are:

· Expected Outcomes

· Resources

· Time Frames

· Constraints

Therefore, be an empowering leader, unleash the full potential of your people and create a win-win situation, you have content people/employees and your organizational results improve.

Bookmark & Share