This is our final installment of lessons I’ve learned since becoming a dad.  This entry is about parenting, autonomy, and empowerment.

My wife and I believe our role as parents is to raise girls who grow up to be strong independent young women.  With this in mind, we are constantly navigating the balance between the need for our involvement and giving them autonomy.  This is tricky, because this line is always moving as our girls grow and develop.  Ultimately, my wife and I have decided that we have the final decision making authority regarding anything that might impact their health and safety.  Outside of those areas, we try to empower them and give them as much space to operate as we can.  Over time, I’ve realized that empowering them to explore on their own has had interesting results.  They have learned to figure stuff out on their own.  They explore their creativity in “cool girl” fashion shows (pics this week).  They experiment in different ways, whether using art supplies or tools to build things.  They are learning to trust and believe in themselves.  Most importantly they are finding who they are.  These things wouldn’t happen if my wife and I were constantly interfering in their lives.

How does this connect with work?  Being a parent is being a leader of a family.  As a leader of a family or of a team it is your job to continue to walk the fine line between being involved in things vs. empowering others.  Walking this line isn’t easy.  If the leader is too involved, then the individual doesn’t have much decision making power, and things tend to move slowly.  If the leader is not at all involved, there is a risk that the individual may not be taking things in the right direction with their decision making power.  We are all leaders in some capacity, so all of us need to continue to work on this balance for ourselves.  As leaders we need to be intentional about what we are involved in.  Where do we want to be involved in something and why do we want to be involved?  Do we want to be involved because we want control?  Do we want to be involved because we offer unique insight?  Do we want to be involved because we see a potential risk for our team? 

The challenge: How are you striking the balance as a leader between involvement and autonomy?  How could you empower your people even more?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry