Tag: Leadership Skills

Empowerment: Are You Sharing Your Power?

Acts 1-8

Monday kicked off Week 40 of 2014. This week’s NIV Leadership Bible focuses on the leadership skill of Empowerment. Empowering leaders share information, rewards, and power with team members, so they can take initiative and make decisions to solve problems—improving service and performance.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his disciples they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem (where they are), in all Judea and Samaria (close to home), and to the ends of the earth. He starts by informing them, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” In this passage, Jesus demonstrates two keys to effective empowerment:

  1. Jesus didn’t promise his disciples authority or influence—attributes they regularly argued about. Instead, he offered them “power,” or the resource they needed to do the job He gave them.
  2. It’s important to note that Jesus had spent three years educating his disciples to lead the church. Then, he supplied what they needed to accomplish the task he gave them.

Leaders who empower others too early set up their followers for failure. On the other hand, leaders who fail to empower capable people create frustration.

To learn more about empowerment from the Bible, click here.

Brady’s 20 Years of Double-Loop Learning

Learner - Strengths Finder Pin

As I reflected on this week’s devotions of “Double-Loop Learning,” it struck me that I’ve done a lot of that over the course of my career. According to Gallup’s “StrengthsFinder”, one of my key strengths is “Learner”—I love to learn!  And I love the learning process, so I often reflect on what I’ve learned from a situation or an experience. Over the past 20 years, I’ve kept the notes I prepared as part of my performance evaluation discussions with my supervisors. As a result, I’m able to see growth over time…

At NASA when someone is promoted to a key position, we often write a short bio of their past accomplishments and experiences. Invariably, we talk about them holding “progressively more responsible leadership roles.” I’ve been fortunate throughout my career to do just that…steadily progress from one position to the next in a way where I could be successful. I’ve seen other leaders skip levels of management—and unfortunately, they prove they aren’t ready for the role they have. Generally, I fault the organization—and not the individual leader—for such a failure.

To follow my 20 year journey of “Double-Loop Learning,” click here.