Empowerment by leaders is often ubiquitously poor. The
reason is that there is a cost to empowerment and many leaders are unwilling to
pay the cost. So any discussion of empowerment must begin by acknowledging that
cost. Let me suggest three costs that prevent leaders from empowering others.
First, and this is a big one for leaders. When we
empower, things may well not be done the way we would do them. Nor should they
as we are not the fount of all wisdom and strategy. God gave gifts to people
for a reason. If they are good staff they will figure out how they should do
what they do. Empowerment naturally means that we give up a measure of control.
Otherwise it is not empowerment.
Second, we are afraid that something will go wrong. If
we have good people it is not likely but life is messy. And, unless we give
people the opportunity to try and even fail, they will never learn and grow.
For me, the best lessons I have learned in leadership was through getting it wrong
on occasion. Both Jesus and Paul were willing to let people fail and learn from
those failures.
Third, many leaders are controllers rather than
empowers. They need to micromanage and insist that others do things they would
do it. Jesus does not do that with us and we ought not try to control others.
Control is dysfunctional leadership. Setting appropriate boundaries is
necessary but control is dysfunctional.
What are the rewards of empowering others?
First, people grow in their skills and responsibility.
If I only do what you tell me to do and how to do it I don’t develop my own
skills to think, analyze, and lead. Paul was willing to empower leaders where
he planted churches knowing that they would mess up on occasion which is why he
wrote some of his epistles. In the process those leaders grew in their
leadership. We only learn to take responsibility when we are given
responsibility.
Second, we develop a leadership and staff bench,
sorely needed by most ministries. Need more good staff? It only happens when we
find and empower good staff and give them a chance to develop their skills.
Third, it expands our influence. Each of us is limited
in what we can personally do. We expand our influence for the Kingdom as we
develop, empower and release others in line with their gifting and skills. I
for one want to have the greatest influence for Jesus that I can. That means
that I need to focus significant time on developing others. As we multiply
empowered and skilled staff we directly increase our influence.