At some point along the way, I remember being told by a very sage person that “Ultimately, charismatic leaders are disempowering”. I remember this being quite a shocking thought – I’d had a few charismatic bosses I’d happily have walked on hot coals for, and the idea of them being disempowering was at the time something I wasn’t ready to take on board.
Over the years, however this thought has stuck with me and increasingly strikes me as true. It’s not just the charismatic types though. I’ve been working with a coaching client over the course of the year, bridging a period when a much loved boss moved on to pastures new. What has been striking is the growth in my client since her apparently nurturing and supportive boss left the organisation. She has been forced to stand on her own two feet, fight her own battles, rather than fall back on the all too available ‘mother hen’. Her confidence has blossomed, and she is performing beyond recognition.
I am quite convinced that one of the prime role of leaders is to grow others as leaders. And this means letting them out grow us if necessary, and being comfortable with that. Tough one!