The Law of Empowerment

Law #12 of John Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is:

The Law of Empowerment: Only Secure Leaders Give Power to Others
“If leaders want to be successful, they have to be willing to empower others.” Maxwell notes that, in order to effectively lead others, we have to help them reach their potential. This relates to the Law of Addition and adding value. However, a leader has to be secure in order to accomplish this, since empowering others includes giving them some power.

Barriers to Empowerment
“Only empowered people can reach their potential. When a leader can’t or won’t empower others, he creates barriers within the organization that followers cannot overcome. If the barriers remain long enough, then the people give up and stop trying, or they go to another organization where they can realize their potential.”

Why leaders fail to empower others:
1. Desire for Job Security?: “The #1 enemy of empowerment is the fear of losing what we have.” There is a paradox to the Law of Empowerment- “The only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable.”
2. Resistance to Change: As we get older, we tend to resist change. But, “change is the price of progress.” We have to train ourselves to embrace and desire change.
3. Lack of Self-Worth: Self conscious people are usually so focused on themselves that they do not make good leaders. They cannot give power to others because they do feel like they have any themselves.

The Power of Empowerment
• The main ingredient is belief in others. If you believe in others, they will believe in themselves.
• Encouragement from someone you respect is quite empowering. It makes you feel appreciated and validates you, which adds to your self worth. In turn, you regard the person who encouraged you even more.
• “Empowerment is powerful- not only for the person being developed but also for the mentor. Enlarging others makes you larger.”

Applying the Law of Empowerment to Your Life
1. Do you believe in yourself? How do you characterize yourself regarding self worth? Are you confident? Do you have value and feel that you generally have positive things to offer? If you do not, or rate lowly in this area, you will have a hard time with the Law of Empowerment. You need to take steps to add value to yourself and/or explore why you are lacking self worth.
2. Do you believe in others? Make a list of the people in your team [or those closest to you]. Rate each on a scale of 1-10 based on potential [not current ability]. If the ratings are low, you likely have problems believing in others and seeing their potential. Start thinking about each person and his/her positive attributes. What are their greatest strengths and how could those attributes be leveraged to accomplish goals.
3. If your natural inclination is to build and then hold onto power, you will need to transition to become an empowering leader. Start with choosing your best people and set them up for success. Provide training and resources and help them set and accomplish goals. If they fail, help them keep trying until they succeed.

Reference:
Maxwell, John. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Chapter 12- The Law of Empowerment. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN; 2007