Leadership and Empowerment

Gina Hernez-Broome and Dianne Nilsen

Empowerment does not come easily to most leaders. Leaders are achievement oriented and like to have control, according to research conducted at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). It's probably these two factors—achievement orientation and a desire for control—that have gotten leaders where they are. But empowerment of others requires one to relinquish some control and some opportunities for personal achievement. It may even require putting one's career at risk.

With so much to lose, why should leaders empower others? The following three stories, told by executives attending CCL's Leadership at the Peak, a program for CEOs and senior executives, tell us why empowerment is ...

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