Chapter 6Self Leadership: The Power Behind Empowerment

Susan Fowler, Ken Blanchard,and Laurence Hawkins

As we discussed in Chapter 4, “Empowerment Is the Key,” the traditional hierarchy of leadership is evolving into a new order: empowerment of individuals. When self leaders can take the initiative to get what they need to succeed and leaders respond to those needs, the proverbial pyramid turns upside down, and leaders serve those who are being led. This puts the power into empowerment.

Managers must learn to let go of command-and-control leadership styles, because soon they will have no choice. In the 1980s, a manager typically supervised five people; in other words, the span of control was one manager to five direct reports. Today, companies ...

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