In the first post of this series, Be Real,” we looked at being RELEVANT. If you have not had the chance to read that article you can read it HERE. The second characteristic of REAL influence is…
EMPOWERING
Thinking back to my early days of leadership, I am so thankful to have been in an empowering environment. I made a lot of mistakes and did some crazy things. But my leaders gave me a go and didn’t give up on me when things didn’t go so well. Empowerment requires a culture that allows people to get knocked down without the fear of being knocked out.
So how do you build an empowering or liberating culture? The Support Challenge Matrix tool gives a picture of four types of leadership.
Protector
There are leaders who are really good at supporting the people they lead. “Man, you are doing a great job.” “You are so awesome.” But, they have a really hard time to bring a challenge. These leaders are protectors. This kind of leadership breeds a culture of entitlement and mistrust.
Dominator
The second type of leader finds it really easy to bring challenge, but difficult to offer support to the people they lead. This leads to a culture of fear and manipulation.
Abdicator
Then there are leaders who neither bring support or challenge. Maybe as a result of burnout or being checked out. These people abdicate their leadership and cause apathy and low expectation.
Liberator
However, when you, as a leader, can calibrate support and challenge to the individuals you lead. You create a culture of empowerment and opportunity. This is what my pastors did for me in my early days at Christ Fellowship. They were my liberators who empowered me to continue to grow. Your influence will be REAL with the people you lead as you continually look for ways to calibrate support and challenge in each individual’s life, empowering them, and opening opportunities for their growth.
In the next post we will look at the third characteristic of REAL influence, authenticity. Until then I want to challenge you to find ways to individually calibrate support and challenge to each individual you have the privilege to lead.