3 Essential "E"s For Leaders... Engage, Empower, Encourage!

By: Bill Thomas

"Enflamed with the study of learning and the admiration of virtue; stirred up with high hopes of living to be brave... and worthy..., dear to God, and famous to all ages." - John Milton

Leaders are by definition "stewards" of the trust, hope and beliefs of others. To perform their acts of stewardship, leaders must practice and master three essential tasks:

=> Engage people

=> Empower people

=> Encourage people

Many leaders have a problem applying those 3 "E"s to their leadership goals, actions and conversations. Here are a few strategic ideas you can use to inject the three "E"s into your leadership styles and behaviors.

Engage the Hearts, Minds & Wills of People!

"No seed shall perish which the soul hath sown." - John Addington Symonds.

When you plant a positive vision into the fertile fields of their hearts, minds, wills and emotions, your venture is sure to succeed.

Your task is to help your partners, associates, peers and constituents or clients to

=> Connect with,

=> Believe in,

=> Commit to,

=> Organize for

performing that mission-critical activity, reaching for a desired objective or completing some specific task.

The intent, consistency and integrity of your leadership style, behaviors and attitudes must demonstrate the worthiness of your visionary ideal or principles.

In a word, you use your dreams or ideals to motivate and inspire the confidence and commitment of others.

Empower the Skills, Performance & Competencies of People!

Empowering people means

-> linking them with the knowledge, resources, assets and processes they need,

- preparing them for the tasks, activities, objectives, challenges and problems they will work through,

- directing them to the sources of tools or materials, supplies and resources, specialists or networks to enable their efforts,

- guiding them in identifying, classifying, mapping or modeling, learning, analyzing, evaluating, innovating and creating, managing, venturing and leading for any situation.

By empowering, we mean facilitating the supply of energy, mass and capability to perform the work at hand. To provide people with the energy of a belief, competence or meaning.

"True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings; Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings." - William Shakespeare

Leaders encourage us to have hope, we use that hope to add speed and give flight to our dreams, our hope transforms our lives into the lofty desires of kingly beings, and transmutes our efforts into a reality of kingly treasures.

Encourage the Endeavors, Strengths & Confidence of People!

When you lead by encouraging people, you give them a:

=> purpose for being, for their inclusion, for making a difference and contribution, for reaching upwards or towards a higher plateau

=> obligation to the mission, to help others, to fulfill an ideal, to belong, to a higher power or greater good

=> trust in the common purpose, in goodness of others, love and mercy of God, in a promising potential for the venture,

=> affinity with a noble or worthy enterprise, with other positive or success-oriented people, with a great and righteous goal

You encourage people because you realize they will become transformed by the hope of a positive image or possibility.

"None without hope e'er lov'd the brightest fair, But love can hope where reason would despair." - Lord Lyttleton.

Love is an act of the will, to love is a willful decision to show a loving concern, care and compassion for another - love gives hope the solid support of a strong foundation.

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"Growth is the only evidence of life." - John Henry Newman

If it is possible to encourage an energizing yet positive growth of people, then you are engaged in a worthwhile endeavor.

When we analyze the styles and behaviors of our greatest leaders like Christ, Gandhi, King, Churchill, Tolstoy and Mother Theresa, they share a common trait - they applied all three "E"s to their practice of leadership.

Leaders in government, business and public services can easily find ways to use one or more of these key actions -

1) They can engage the hearts or minds of people through compelling ideas or inspiring principles;

2) They can empower the ability and desires of people by connecting or educating them through applied energy;

3) They can encourage the commitment and heroism of people by showing them the hope or belief in a better reality.

Try out these concepts - when you do, you'll see a real improvement in your leadership effectiveness!

"We have two lives about us, Two worlds in which we dwell, Within us and without us, Alternate Heaven and Hell: Without, the somber Real, Within, our hearts of hearts, the beautiful Ideal." - Richard Henry Stoddard.

It's up to you to decide, do you believe there are 3 "E"s in "leadership"? Stretch forth your hope and see the possibility - engage, empower, encourage your people to win!

Copyright © 2005, Mustard Seed Investments Inc., All rights reserved.

About the Author: Bill Thomas presents "The Leadership Toolkit" - serious leadership training for professionals, managers, executives, entrepreneurs and specialists. Discover how to energize your leadership skills, boost your confidence and get new knowledge through our articles, newsletters & programs.