It’s Not About Position, but more about Empowerment
Proverbs 17:2 states that it is better to be a wise slave than a foolish son.
For those who know and follow the teachings of John C. Maxwell, we know that to not study the maxims is to position yourself for something less than success.. Mind you, through trial and error you may eventually get to success but at what cost? John has stated that Leadership is Influence, nothing more, nothing less. And to that end, it is paramount that you study and learn the 5 Levels of Leadership. Level 1 begins where so many are stuck. The belief that leadership is based on your position. It might be your position at work, on a community board, or in your family. All too often, you hear people who want to move up the ladder saying that when they get the position, they will study the Leadership. What does in fact happen, all too often, is that the individual gets the “position” and forgets that they need the leadership. They have arrived and thus it is assumed that they now know what they need to know. Positional Leadership is not a safe level to be at as you don’t have the buy in of your team. You may think that you do but your really don’t. In fact, I heard a comment in a meeting the other day that if a person is not a leader they should not apply for the position. How crazy is that?
Our influence has less to do with our position or title than it does with empowering others along the way of life we live. It’s not about position but more so about production. While it is so important that we continue to educate ourselves to be better leaders and managers, it is extremely important to continually strive to empower other people along the way. This is a major difference than just us holding a position. This is the key to the road of credibility that we must attain. Remember that you don’t want to just think that you have arrived because you have reached your Level 1 position. If you have hopes of being successful and building upon that credibility then you need to work towards the higher levels. At this point, I draw your attention to John’s book the 360 Degree Leader. Leaders need to understand that it is NOT about the Leader. It is about the Team which is made up of many Leaders. You must seek to empower, teach and train above, below and sideways of where you are in your Organization. The maxim of thinking that if you keep those around you weak, you will remain in a position of strength is just flat out WRONG! Your strength will weaken just as that of Sampson after the haircut.
I want to ask you 5 questions:
1. Consistency: Are you the same person no matter who is with you?
2. Choices: Do you make decisions based on how they benefit you or others?
3. Credit: Are you quick to recognize others for their efforts when you succeed?
4. Character: Do you work harder at your image or your integrity?
5. Credibility: Have you recognized that credibility is a victory, not a gift?
My call to action is to ask you to first determine where you are personally at regarding the 5 Levels of Leadership. Once you have made that determination, I ask you to evaluate and be honest with yourself as to whether you are empowering others. Truly empowering others. Of course, I would like to suggest that you will need to have a copy of the 5 Levels of Leadership and the 360 Degree Leader.
Contact me today at [email protected] and let’s arrange adding you to a Mastermind Group where you can interact with others as we seek to learn how to be better at “empowering” and less about position. I am also available to discuss how Coaching can and will be of value to you moving forward.
Peace. BB
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