Think of a leader as the captain of a ship, at one of those big steering wheels. What happens when, in total movie-esque form, the ship becomes very hard to steer and now requires more than the leader's own strength?
Some leaders would shout, "Come, help me turn this wheel!". The helpers duly show up, but because the leader is not willing to let go of any the handles, the helpers end up pulling on the arms and legs of the leader instead. The wheel does in fact turn a little more than just the leader by himself, but the leader now experiences more stress with each additional person helping; all the tension is routed through him/her. Worse yet, there can never be any true rest for the leader. The wheel would go flying out of control as soon as he/she lets go, even if they have a million helpers.
That is what delegation looks like without empowerment. The leader is not willing to let others have any control, thus they demand that all of the work of these helpers be routed through them: all decisions, strategy, staffing, and execution. Unfortunately so is all the tension, anxiety and tiredness. Most of the helpers' energies are spent on tugging at the leader, double checking on every move. Only small amounts of the helpers' fervour transfers to the wheel, because they are never given the opportunity to grab hold of the main cause.
An empowering leader would say, "Come, take hold of this part of the wheel, and we'll pull together" The leader lets go of a part of the wheel, the helpers grab on to the handles, and the team pulls the wheel together. The stress of steering is shared amongst the team. The team can give each other moments of rest, knowing that the others will continue to pull in the same direction.
That is empowering leadership, recognizing the people around you that want to pull in the same direction you do, letting go of control, and inviting them to grab hold of the main cause so that they can bear some of that weight with you.
Now to lead this way you need to figure out who wants to pull in the same direction you do. If you're having a hard time finding those people, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Have I communicated this direction thoroughly? Half the time capable, enthusiastic partners do not take the wheel simply because they do not have any clue as to which way they should pull.
Are they afraid of the not being able to bear the responsibility? In reflection of that, am I truly asking to share this burden, or am I throwing my hands up and trying to dump the whole thing on someone else? Do I communicate, and live out a commitment to building their strengths to take hold of a part of the wheel?
Am I wrong? Leaders must learn to ask this question, because trust me, you will be wrong, and probably more often than you would think. If the direction is right, is this the right timing? If you know the team around you want the same things, but they are not hopping on this direction, confide in them for perspectives you might have missed.
Lastly, if you're really finding that after connecting and sharing with people, after committing to building up others, after confirming that this truly is what God called you to steer towards, and you are still not finding a team, the last question to ask is: Am I called to be here? At this point your choices are to stay and continue to try to share/teach/instill this direction, or leave, on good terms, recognizing that they are pulling on a different wheel right now.
