A conductor's true power derives from making other people powerful.
That thought took me on a little time travel, back a few years to when I was the Clinical Coordinator for a 40-bed cardiac unit. My job, as I explained it to others, was to "lead from below." I tried to lift up each nurse's knowledge base and confidence. I was a bee, flitting from staff member to staff member, finding out who needed help and who had something to contribute back to the group. Some who perform the same role think of themselves as a marionette. Pulling the strings to make things go smoothly. I thought that was counter-productive.
Before I left, several who had been working in that unit for many years had decided to transfer into the ICU. I thought of that as a huge win
Coleen said...
@ Janice:You are so right the entire concept of empowerment confuses so many. As a leader, the importance of helping your helping your staff to take on leadership roles within their unit is your most important role. I look at so many leaders in our clinical environment that work 14-16 hours a day...that really is unfortunate, because if they took the time to develop all the leaders around them they would be building a highly effective team and get their evenings and weekends back to spend with their family and friends.
Great thought Janice!! I also agree with Coleen that the leaders around you need to be developed as well. I see this all the time in my science classroom. Certain students bring themselves forward as leaders and will help the other students with hard concepts or problems. I agree Janice that the marionette approach is totally backward, and we see why with your experiences.