Summary and notes on law of empowerment

Antithesis of empowering leader: undermining other leaders and looking over shoulders of own people

Only secure leaders are able to give power to others without feeling threatened

"The best executive is the one who has the sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it."

To keep others down, you have to go down with them. You lose the power to lift others up.

When a leader can't or won't empower others, he creates barriers followers cannot overcome.

3 reasons for failing to empower others:
- job security. Paradox = The only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable.
- resistance to change. "It is the nature of man as he grows older to protest against change, particularly change fo the better". Effective leaders are change agents (for improvement)
- lack of self-worth. "You can't lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse".



The greatest things happen only when you give others credit.

The window and the mirror (from "Good to Great"). When things go well, a good leader (level 5) looks out the window to see the environment and people responsible, when things go bad, he looks in the mirror. (A bad leader vice versa)

To empower people, believe in them. If you belive in others, they will believe in themselves.

Enlarging others make you larger.