Are You an Empowered Leader?

Recently, I have been thinking about leadership.  What constitutes an empowered leader?

The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.

Empowered leaders command respect without demanding it.

We must learn to help those who deserve it, not just those who need it.  Life responds to deserve, not need. An empowered leader understands what makes people want to follow.   Empowered leaders often are good mentors.  A good mentor will say, “Let’s go do it,” rather than “You go do it”.  This is empowering.

Good people are found, not changed.  Recently I read a headline that said, “We don’t teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice people.”  Empowered Leaders help people see themselves better than they are…they help individuals funnel their strong points into productive behavior.   Are you that kind of leader?   Are you empowered?