I remember when I was a young leader, stepping into my first supervisory role. Back then, I thought being in charge meant I should know it all. If someone on my team was better at something than I was, I felt an unspoken pressure to prove myself.
I would work hard to "catch up" because I believed that, as the “boss”, I needed to be the best at everything.
Looking back, I realize that wasn’t really about competitiveness. It was about a misguided view of leadership, thinking that the leader was supposed to be the “best” at everything.
Now, I see things differently. Now, when someone on my team excels in an area where I’m weaker, I don’t feel threatened, I feel grateful. Because leadership isn’t about being the best at everything, it’s about building the best team and empowering each member to do what they do best.
It reminds me of a powerful conversation I had with a supervisor not too long ago. The supervisor confided she was absolutely exhausted from working ALL the time. This supervisor was working incredibly LONG hours and was unconsciously micro-managing all of her team members. Without realizing it, her own fear of failure was compromising her ability to empower, train, and grow the team she supervised which was causing her not to trust their work or allow them to work independently or without almost paralyzing oversight.
Unfortunately, this had also caused her team members to lack their own confidence and shut down.
The sad fact is that when you hoard power, you create dependency and/or create disempowered team members who lack confidence or initiative. But when you share it, you create leaders.
As Self-Aware Leaders, we want to make sure we:
· Recognize our own limits. Leadership isn’t about doing it all, it’s about empowering the strengths of those around you.
· Empower, don’t micromanage. When we delegate, we’re not just offloading tasks, we’re giving people opportunities to grow.
· Trust the process. Pushing the power down means trusting that people will rise, and if they stumble, supporting them in the learning process.
· Let go of ego. True leadership isn’t about proving your worth, it’s about lifting others up.
Take a moment to ask yourself:
· Am I holding onto control in areas where I could be empowering others?
· Do I see delegation as a loss of power—or as an opportunity for others to step up?
· How can I “push the power down” in a way that strengthens my team and allows me more freedom?
The most powerful leaders aren’t the ones who keep the power for themselves. They’re the ones who share it—so everyone rises.
What do you do to make sure you are empowering others, being aware of how controlling you are, and/or creating ways to strengthen your team? I would love to hear from you.
YOU MATTER!