If Jesus is our model for leadership (and He is), I think we have to be about empowering our teams to build the Kingdom. Christ empowered us with the Holy Spirit and a simple directive:
He said to them: âIt is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.â Acts 1:7-8
He didn’t leave them with a checklist that mapped out each step to take to be His witnesses. He taught them. He mentored them for three years. And He empowered them with the Spirit to represent Him to the world.
A few years back, I worked with some of the people in my coaching network to brainstorm some of the differences between empowerment and delegation. What does that look like practically? How does empowering our team change our language?
Here are some of the things we came up with:
Leaders empower. Managers delegate. Delegating tasks is easier. And there are certainly times when delegation is necessary. But, in the long run, empowering others helps you build leaders on your team.
What other differences would you add to this list?
