1-Minute Win #57: Empower Others

Great leaders don’t create followers.
 They develop others to lead.

#Leadership #Growth

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Welcome to One Minute Wins with Dr. Dana Martin, the podcast where intentional growth makes practical leadership. One quote, one lesson, one action to help you lead yourself and others better. Let's jump in. Howdy, and welcome back to One Minute Wins. I am Dr. Dana Martin. Today, something a little different. I'm on screen. Yes, we're gonna start doing these with me here. And maybe, who knows, we may start doing these live at some point, uh, and get some interaction and engagement from those who like to watch. So let's jump in. Welcome to One Minute Wins Podcast. Today's episode, One Minute Win number 57, empower others. And as always, we're gonna start with the truth that your if your leadership only works when you're there and when you're present. That is not leadership, that is dependence. Great leaders don't build followers, they build other leaders. Our quote today that we have is from one Ralph Nader. The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. That's the paradigm shift. Today we're gonna talk about how leaders can multiply themselves and why empowerment is the difference between control versus legacy. So great leaders multiply themselves through others. What does that mean? Well, control limits the ability to grow. You put a fence around something and it can only grow as and expand as large as the fence. Empowerment is removing that fence. Empowerment is allowing that growth. Leaders who hold on to that authority, they create bottlenecks, they become a monument. And leaders who develop others blow through that, and it's momentum that's created. Here's where a lot of leaders get that a little bit wrong. They delegate the task, but not the trust. And they assign the work, but not the ownership. Empowerment isn't just giving someone something to do, it's giving them the ability to lead, starting with themselves. I once worked with a leader who was exhausted all the time. Everything came through them. The monument, every decision, every escalation, every issue. They believed they were displaying responsibility and ownership, they were being responsible. But what they were actually doing was limiting their team so that everyone learned that no one needed to step up, no one was really allowed to. When they began making a little bit of a shift and giving decision authority, when they started encouraging input, real input, and backing their team in other meetings, in venues, something started to change. There was a trust and confidence created. People didn't just start doing their or continue doing their jobs, they started owning their jobs. Empowerment didn't create chaos. What it did was created capability, which created momentum, turned into confidence, and led to ownership. Here's some data from Gallup backs this up. Gallup study on workplace engagement found that managers accounted for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement. 70% of the variance in employee engagement. And one of the strongest drivers of engagement is whether employees feel their development is supported. Additionally, organizations that prioritize employee development and empowerment see 11% greater profitability and are twice as likely to retain their people. This is data. Empowerment drives performance, dot dot dot, and retention. Jack Welsh, think of him what you want. He was something else as a leader. Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. Leadership has to evolve. At some point, your success cannot, is not, no longer measured by what you accomplish, but by who you develop and their fruits. That's the multiplier effect. We had to learn this lesson over time. And by we I mean the royal me. Early in my leadership journey, I thought being valuable, being the employee that's wanted, that meant being needed for everything. I had to answer or know the answer to every question. I had to solve every problem, or at least be involved. Stay at the center. That approach cannot scale. You will exhaust yourself. What changed was shifting from just answering questions to critically thinking of more questions. Does that sound counterintuitive? I went from solving problems to developing people who were problem solvers. That's when my leadership became sustainable. You can't do it all. You have to have someone else continue within their journey that's permeable to you within your journey. Here's how we do it, though. What's the word? Intentionally. Number one, identify potential. Look for people that are ready. They they don't have to be perfect. Just make sure that they're ready. Share responsibility with clarity. Define the outcomes. That was number two. Sorry. Number two, share responsibility with clarity. Define outcomes, not just the task. Number three, coach instead of control. Guide the decisions without taking them back. And number four, reinforce growth publicly. That recognition builds confidence, builds rapport, builds trust. So what are those four? Number one, identify potential. Number two, share responsibility with clarity. Number three, coach instead of control. Number four, reinforce growth publicly. Empowerment is not a hands-off, it's not delegation. It's hands forward. So here's the question for you today. Who can you mentor today? Not oh, I'd like to work with so-and-so someday. No, who can start today? Who's ready for that next level? And waiting for someone just to invest a little in them. So offer guidance our action for today. Offer guidance or share a resource with someone that you feel is ready to grow. Send them the article, forward them this podcast. Schedule the conversation, give the opportunity for them to take the step. Growth starts with intentional investment. Leaders multiply influence by multiplying leaders. If your team depends on you, that progress is going to slow. If your team grows beyond you, that impact and that scope expands. Empowerment isn't about losing control, it's about increasing your capacity. That's how leadership scales. If this episode challenged you, please share it with someone else who wants to be and build something bigger than where they're at today. Thank you all very much for listening for today and enjoy, hopefully, this new medium. You've been listening to One Minute Wins with me, Dr. Dana Martin. If you're ready to take your growth to the next level, grab the companion book One Minute Wins Volume 1. Take control of your growth journey one minute at a time, available now on Amazon. If this episode added value, make sure to like, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who could benefit from today's message. Thank you for listening in. Always remember be the example.