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Empowerment: The Effect of Leadership

June 19, 2000

"Leadership can be felt throughout an organization.  It gives pace and energy to the work and empowers the workforce.  Empowerment is the collective effect of leadership.  In organizations with effective leaders, empowerment is most evident in four themes:

* People feel significant.
Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference in the success of the organization.

* Learning and competence matter.
   Leaders value learning and mastery, and so do people who work for leaders.

* People are part of a community.
   Where there is leadership, there is a team, a family, a unity.

* Work is exciting.
Where there are leaders, work is stimulating, challenging, fascinating, and fun (Bennis, 1997, p.87)."

Reference:  Bennis, W. (1997).  Managing people is like herding cats.  Provo, UT: Executive Excellence Publishing.

Do these four themes describe your organization?

Managing People is Like Herding Cats is available on loan from the OSU Leadership Center.  A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~leaders

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Created: 2009-01-02, Updated: 2009-01-12