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Empowering Leadership: Identifying Traits to Inspire and Influence

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What makes a leader truly effective? In many instances, it’s the way they inspire their people to give their all and achieve their best. One of the most effective ways to do this is through developing an empowering leadership style.

A woman is looking at a model of a building on a table contemplating leadership

What is Empowering Leadership?

Empowering leadership refers to a leadership style that gives people under the leader the power to make decisions and take action. Instead of micromanaging their people, the empowering leader gives their people authority. This, in turn, causes autonomy and creates momentum to get the job done.

Key Traits of Empowering Leaders

What makes someone an empowering leader? Here are some key factors that people who have this leadership style often embrace.

1. Visionary Thinking

Being a visionary means being able to see the big picture. An empowering leader is a visionary thinker who can see the end goal. This vision allows them to pick the right people to reach that goal and then step back and let their people do the job.

Visionary thinkers are always looking for new possibilities and opportunities. That drive and passion are contagious, and the people they lead often embrace it with time.

2. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, or the ability to perceive, understand, and utilize emotions to communicate and connect with others, is a key feature of empowering leaders. People who empower their teams well are able to pick up on the emotions of the people they lead and use those emotions to better motivate and inform them.

3. Empathy and Compassion

Leading requires providing feedback, but empowering leaders use empathy and compassion when they deliver feedback. They learn how people will best receive feedback, prepare their people for difficult conversations early, and provide actionable steps to take to reach a goal or fix a problem. All of this is backed by a high level of compassion, which, in turn, helps the team members to better trust their employer. While most leaders have a high level of passion, empowering leaders balance that passion with a healthy dose of compassion.

4. Effective Communication

Effective communication is a key factor in empowering leadership. People who know what is expected of them are more likely to achieve what the leader wants. Effective communication also builds trust, both between the leader and the employees and also within the group as a whole.

An empowering leader will over-communicate. They will give clear instructions, provide routine updates, and check in on a regular basis. They will also practice good listening techniques.

Two women are looking at a whiteboard in an office working on a project and practicing communication in leadership

They will encourage their staff members to share feedback, and they will take that feedback into consideration. Finally, they will host regular meetings to get communication flowing between the whole group.

5. Delegation and Trust

In order to empower others, a leader must give others the ability to take on tasks. This requires a delegation. An empowering leader will delegate intentionally so people can help achieve the goal. They will learn who they can trust to do the job well, and then will step back and wait for them to achieve the goal. The focus turns to trusting their people to do the work, and then waiting for the outcome.

Benefits of an Empowering Leadership Style

An empowering leadership style benefits the team and the organization as a whole. With an empowering leader, team members are pushed out of their comfort zone. In time, this increases productivity, and the entire team gets more done.

Empowering leaders give people the tools and stamina they need to push through roadblocks and barriers. This creates an organization that is more resilient, even when obstacles arise.

Overall, the people who work under someone with an empowering leadership style report greater job satisfaction. This style creates stronger relationships because it focuses on building trust. It also inspires greater creativity among team members, which means a higher chance of innovative ideas.

Empowering leaders give their team members confidence that their voices will be heard. Research shows that this makes them five times as likely to reach their full potential. When people are able to reach their full potential, the organization as a whole is equipped to reach its goals.

How to Adopt an Empowering Leadership Style

How can you adopt an empowering leadership style if it’s not your natural way of leading? Here are some practical strategies to use:

A woman is sitting on a table with her arms crossed in front of a group of people as a strong leader

Create authority for team members – Give employees the ability to own the tasks they are given. When they prove they can do the job well, they are given greater and greater responsibility, eventually reaching end-to-end authority over a particular task. By not micromanaging, you will create a culture of empowerment.

Delegate wisely – You are the one who knows your employees’ strengths and weaknesses well. Use that knowledge to choose which tasks you delegate. Set your people up for success by delegating with wisdom.

Encourage personal development – Have tools and programs in place that let your people pursue personal and professional development. This will make it easier for them to reach their goals and help motivate them to keep trying.

Communicate well – Make communication with your team members a top priority. When they know what’s expected of them, they will rise to it. When they’re struggling to know what you want, you’ll struggle to get good work out of them.

Recognize value – When someone is bringing value to your organization, take time to recognize them. People will work harder and more consistently when they know they will be rewarded for their efforts.

Elevating Your Leadership Style Through Jonette’s Coaching

Do you want to embrace an empowering leadership style and become more effective as a leader? Sometimes, coaching is what you need. Jonette Dyer offers career and leadership coaching to help you become stronger and more effective as a leader. If you want to learn about how to inspire people to achieve their best, you can with help from Jonette. Start your journey today.