The dictionary defines empowerment as, “to give power or authority to”. Now what this means in a oneness context is, “to surrender the power from the self”. And this has ramifications in both:
- Leadership
- Consciousness
Let’s take each one up.
Leadership
The funny thing about leadership is that it is (obviously) not taught in ‘management’ school. Yet managers think they know it instinctively. Management and Leadership are subjects of the left and the right quadrants respectively and that’s what unlearning and relearning in the corporate world should all be about. Sure, managers are given numerous hours of ‘leadership training’, but by whom? Not by leaders. But by other employees who have only read more and made more schematic diagrams. Wrong quadrant!
So who is a leader ? A leader is one who can empower others. In doing so, he/she inspires, envisions and works up a team. To my knowledge, nobody has put this better than Andy Andrews in his inimitable style:
Isn’t Mr Cortez (or Christopher Columbus for that matter) the kind of person you would abide by? Why? Because he has empowered you to be led by the vision you have both shared.
Nobody can make anyone else work for their selfish motives. They could enslave at one time, but not anymore. “The opposite of enslavement is empowerment. And this is where society has to move to in the 21st century” – Sandeep Nath
So how does one empower? I have learnt that it takes 3 Es.
- Envisioning
- Edifying
- Energizing
Envisioning is the root of inspiration. If Cortez could not have shared the vision, he might have ‘managed’ a trip like the others did… not a voyage that changed the world. Because the crew could see the treasure for themselves, they were inspired!
Edifying is not seen in this video but is a strong underlying team-building principle. Edification is loosely like ‘passing the ball’ (in football) by speaking well of and building up people on the team (especially leaders). What it does is, it creates an upward spiral of positivity across the rank and file of the team, which sucks entire communities into its powerful spin. An example is how NASA and JFK edified each other to result in a man on the moon!
Energizing is what Cortez and Churchill and Gandhi and Mao and Lenin have done with their famous words that have manifested revolutions. A leader stirs up an energy that empowers. And this oneness with empowerment is what creates the leverage that enables work of the magnitude impossible for any single human being!
Consciousness
While leadership would be the commercial way to understand oneness with empowerment, spiritually it is the surrender to a higher power that makes the impossible possible.
This higher power has first to be empowered by the self, or the ego… by submitting itself… much like the leader has to take a servant position and let the team create the victories of epic proportions. It is not surprising therefore that we always hear of ‘spiritual leaders’ and never of ‘spiritual managers’.
As you observe leaders closely, you’ll be astounded to note the remarkably higher consciousness they operate from. How do you figure that? Look for their knee-jerk reactions. Impulsive reflexes. They will always be extraordinary… always thinking of the other person, not themselves.
And this is because such people have designed their lives using empowerment principles. On the abundance side. Demonstrating Oneness with Nature , Wealth and Empowerment.
To know how to work it for you… step by step… write in . Happy to help!
