Leadership – Share Power!

This is the eighth part of a 10-part series on good leadership.

A team is only as strong as its weakest member? If this is true, then winning teams will have all the top players. Fortunately for many of us, this is not true. A team is as strong as its ability to harness the power of ALL its members.

In our previous segment, we spoke about cooperation among team members, and also about the supreme importance of building trust. Why is this important? The answer is simply this – if you don’t trust someone, you are not going to share your power with him or her. This is really fundamental to our human psyche.

There are teams which succeed very well under the leadership of a very strong individual. However, such teams will find it difficult to sustain its high performance. With only one or two person bearing the load of leadership, it will not be long before exhaustion sets in. Exhaustion in terms of creativity, dynamism, clarity of vision, taking risks and in the other myriad areas which require excellence in the team.

A good leader understands the power of sharing power. When you assign decision making authority to another team member, it does not reduce your power. Instead, it increases the overall decision making power of the team. Good leaders recognise this truth. Weak leaders fear this truth. Good decision making can be done by anyone with the appropriate training and the right information. The “best decision” is a fallacy propagated by weak and fearful leaders who want to hoard the power and paint the illusion that they are the only ones capable of coming to the “best decision”.

There is a consequence of sharing power that leaders must know. The ones to whom you have shared your powers to, will actually have a chance to grow and develop. They will grow and become more powerful. They will be strengthened. On top of that, if you add good guidance and proper processes to aid them, they themselves can become acknowledged leaders in their own right. Good leaders strive to achieve this. Weak leaders secretly dread the day a “subordinate” is able to match their own skills and knowledge.

While there are many courses and workshops or seminars that teach leadership, the fact is; the single best way to train to become a leader is to actually have the opportunity to be a leader. By sharing power, a good leader not only strengthens the group’s effectiveness, he also strengthens the individual.

What do we want to achieve as a leader? If simply leading an effective group is sufficient, you probably could do just as well reading only up to Part 7 – Promote Cooperation and Trust in your Team ; however, if you want to achieve excellence as a leader, this is probably one of the most important aspects. In the long run, leaders are remembered for their achievements. But great leaders are remembered for their inspiration.

To catch up, here are the links to the previous posts:

1. Articulate Your Personal Vision As a Leader
2. Putting Action To Your Words
3. Have a Vision
4. Share the Vision
5. Learn and Grow
6. Take Risks
7. Promote Cooperation and Trust in your Team

[tags]leadership, good leadership, leadership skill, leaders learn and grow, leaders innovate, good leaders, build team, cooperation, share power, weak leaders[/tags]