Leadership Liberates
Leadership liberates others by enabling them to find meaning and full responsibility in their roles. Are you waiting around for a hero leader to arrive on the scene to liberate you? I hope not.
Leadership is a relationship, which means you have to do your part by assuming responsibility for continuously developing yourself into an increasingly interdependent and purposeful partner in the relationship. Unless and until you assume full responsibility for yourself, you force others to assume responsibility for you.
Work hard to liberate your leader from the burden of having to worry about how well you will perform and how much you will care about the work you do, those you do it for, and those you do it with. Give yourself permission to do this work free from external sanctions and rewards. The primary barriers to empowerment are between your ears.
Your choices, as much as anything else, determine whether you will be restrained or liberated by leadership. If you never learn to liberate yourself, you’ll never be prepared to help others do the same.
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I Am A Steward Of This Group And Share Responsibility For Its Success
The Responsibility For Self Engagement
About the Author: Bret L. Simmons
Welcome to my blog! Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section of my posts. I publish all constructive, non-anonymous comments. 
Hi Bret,
I agree completely. As employees, it’s our job to fulfill our tasks wholeheartedly, and sidestep office peeves, politics or pandering.
This reminds me of something I occasionally used to say to my kids when they were teenagers. It went like this: “Look, I require only three things from you: information, obedience and reassurance. If you’re upfront with me about what you’re doing, stay within the boundaries I set, and show me that I don’t have to worry about you, you’ll get all kinds of perks out of me, and I’ll treat you as much like a grown-up as your behavior deserves — though I may occasionally come to you with a question about your friends or choices. Your safety, stability and well-being are my primary mission. Help me fulfill that mission, and I will trust and defend you always. Get in the way of that mission, violate that trust, and it’ll cost you privileges, independence — and cash for anything you break.”
I love that line of yours, Bret: unless you assume full responsibility for yourself, you force others to assume responsibility for you. In the workplace, we don’t ever want our bosses to worry about the quality of our work, or the reliability of our performance. That is our responsibility. Otherwise we have not yet escaped adolescence.
So let’s challenge ourselves to leave behind any underage antics we still cling to at work, such as cliques, grudges, gossip, bullying, tantrums or showing off. In doing so, we’ll liberate our bosses to be able to function as our partners, not our parents.
When we do our work like grownups, we not only receive accolades, appreciation and a paycheck from our employer; we also get to experience the satisfaction of personal growth, the awesome discipline of team endeavor, the privilege of influencing our peers, and the adults-only thrill of becoming authorities who are sought after for our wisdom and expertise.
Talk about liberating…!
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
May 4th, 2011 at 11:59 am
Welcome back, Beth! Once again, thanks for adding value to this post. My mom raised me the way you describe. I had incredible freedom growing up, but I never abused it and was always aware of my responsibilities. Thanks! bret
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Beth Reply:
May 4th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Well it seems that you have certainly leveraged that well-guided upbringing into a life of guiding others well, Bret. Kudos to your mom. I hope she is still with you and you can show her this post for Mother’s Day. I bet it would be her best present ever. To quote John Wayne in the original True Grit movie: “She reminds me of me!”
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Bret L. Simmons Reply:
May 4th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
I watched that movie again just last week! My mother was awesome for sure. She had a tough and way too short life. Both my parents died in 1985 when I was only 24. I tell folks the world is a different place when your parents are no longer in it, so cherish them while you have them. Thanks! Bret
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