The job of true leaders is not to be right all the time
Or to always get their way
True leaders aren’t afraid to be wrong now and then
The job of true leaders is to create safe emotional space
So we can make mistakes
and learn from them
An example
When I’m exercising empowering leadership
–And I say ‘empowering’ instead of ‘empowered’
Because it’s empowering for everyone
Not just me–
When I’m exercising empowering leadership
Sometimes I say ‘yes’ to a co-worker’s idea
Even though I’m fairly sure it will fail
(As long as the failure isn’t ruinous or dangerous)
Why don’t I demonstrate my “leadership”?
Save the poor trainee from their naivety
With my expertise?
Because the smart ones will often resent me
For saying ‘no’ to their idea
On some level they will feel stunted, stopped up, rejected
By my protection
An empowering leader will say ‘yes’ to an idea
Even when they accurately discern
That it’s not the right idea
An empowering leader will say ‘yes’ to a failure idea
And then create a safe emotional space
For the lesson to be learned first-hand
Without judgment or shame but instead
With warmth and humor and a wink
And all the while empowering leaders
Know they may themselves be wrong
There’s always a chance the idea is unforeseen genius
Or can be executed in a more effective way
Than the leader can imagine
After all youth are innovative
And elders get stuck in their ways
Leaders can be so proud of their knowledge
They fail to examine new perspectives
Squelched leaders
who are too proud to be wrong
who are too afraid to learn
and to hold space for the learning of others
These squelched leaders
Think they’re right all the time
And even when they are right all the time
They stunt the evolution of our species
An empowering leader guides
Through the mazes of even our worst ideas
Until we arrive at a solution that feels
True and satisfying for everyone
An empowering leader guides our way to truth
Sometimes with just a quick thought experiment
And sometimes by fully reenacting the predictable failure
Because sometimes utter failure is more convincing
Than a leader explaining why
And sometimes our failures are really our blind spots
And novices have a way of revealing the obvious
True leaders hold truth before pride
Challenging us all to dig deeper
Than our assumptions
Because truth is only satisfying
When we all feel it together
Empowering leaders
Leave no one behind
