Enabling Leaders: Empowering Teams for Success [ + Quiz: Are You an Enabling Leader ]

Oct 15, 2023

What is an Enabling Leader?

An enabling leader is one who recognizes the significance of involving the entire team in the company's purpose and ambition. Rather than dictating directives, they engage team members to collaborate around a common vision, creating a cohesive force that propels the organization forward. These leaders prioritize active listening, proximity to their team, and accessibility, understanding that these elements are the linchpin of effective leadership.

Tip 1: Know Your Purpose

A remarkable trait of enabling leaders is their unwavering clarity about the organization's purpose. They not only understand the company's overarching goals but also communicate them effectively to their team. This shared sense of purpose serves as a guiding light, aligning everyone's efforts toward a common objective. By having a well-defined purpose, enabling leaders provide a sense of direction that empowers their team to make informed decisions and take calculated risks.

Tip 2: Understand Your Team

Enabling leaders make it a priority to know their team members on a personal and professional level. They identify the disruptive and innovative individuals, recognizing their potential to drive change. Additionally, enabling leaders discern who possesses leadership qualities at different stages of a project. By understanding the strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations of each team member, enabling leaders assign tasks strategically, ensuring that every individual is in a position to excel.

Tip 3: Embrace Open-Mindedness

Enabling leaders foster an environment of open-mindedness. They actively listen to their team members, keenly observe their actions, and ask thought-provoking questions. This practice encourages the emergence of new leaders within the team. These leaders challenge the status quo, bringing fresh perspectives and creative solutions to the table. By making space for diverse and unconventional ideas, enabling leaders to fuel innovation and prevent stagnation.

Scenario: Enabling Leadership in Action

Imagine a software development company gearing up for a critical product launch.

An enabling leader, Alex, gathers the team and passionately shares the company's mission to transform how people interact with technology.
Alex listens attentively as team members express their ideas, concerns, and suggestions.
Recognizing Lisa's knack for disruptive thinking, Alex assigns her the task of brainstorming innovative features.
As the project progresses, Alex encourages open discussions during team meetings, where different and sometimes unconventional ideas are welcomed.
This approach leads to the development of groundbreaking features that set the product apart in the market.

Scenario: Disabling Leadership in Action

In contrast, a non-enabling leader, Chris, takes a top-down approach.
Chris outlines the project's goals without delving into the bigger picture.
Team members are given predefined tasks, leaving little room for input or collaboration.
Chris does not actively engage with the team, missing opportunities to identify emerging leaders. The team's enthusiasm wanes as they feel disconnected from the project's purpose and stifled by rigid directives.
The final product lacks innovation and fails to make a significant impact.

Why isn’t Enabling Leadership a current concept yet?

Enabling leadership is indeed gaining recognition and traction as a valuable concept in modern leadership practices. However, many leadership development programs focus on teaching specific skills and competencies, such as decision-making, communication, and strategic thinking. While these skills are important, the holistic approach of enabling leadership, which encompasses purpose, collaboration, and innovation, might not always be fully integrated into such programs.

Am I an Enabling Leader? | Quiz

Many people and organizations might be practicing aspects of enabling leadership without recognizing it as a distinct concept.

Here's a quiz designed to raise awareness of your potential as an enabling leader.

Keep in mind that this quiz provides a general assessment, it should be taken as a self-reflective tool.

Enabling Leadership Self-Assessment Quiz

For each question, choose the response that best reflects your typical behavior. Assign the following scores:

Almost Never (1 point)
Sometimes (2 points)
Often (3 points)
Almost Always (4 points)

1. How well do you know and communicate your organization's purpose and goals to your team?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

2. How frequently do you actively listen to your team members' ideas and concerns?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

3. How often do you encourage team collaboration and brainstorming sessions?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

4. How well do you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each team member?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

5. How open are you to considering unconventional or diverse ideas from your team?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

6. How often do you delegate leadership responsibilities and tasks to different team members?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

7. How frequently do you provide mentorship and guidance to help team members develop their leadership skills?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

8. How well do you adapt your leadership style to the specific needs of different team members?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

9. How often do you seek feedback from your team to improve your own leadership effectiveness?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

10. How committed are you to creating a sense of purpose and shared vision within your team?

Almost Never
Sometimes
Often
Almost Always

Scoring:

Add up your scores for each question to determine your total score.

10-20 points: You have some aspects of enabling leadership, but there is room for growth. Consider improving your active listening, team collaboration, and openness to diverse ideas.
21-30 points: You are demonstrating moderate enabling leadership qualities. Continue to nurture your strengths and work on areas where you could further empower your team.
31-40 points: You exhibit strong enabling leadership traits. Your focus on purpose, collaboration, and mentorship is making a positive impact on your team's development.
41-40 points: You are a highly enabling leader. Your commitment to fostering a culture of empowerment and innovation is exemplary.

Be aware:

Enabling leadership development is intricately woven into your leadership DNA, encompassing your beliefs, experiences, and motivations.

At mylle, we specialize in assisting leaders in identifying and actively addressing their most significant challenges. However, achieving accurate and impactful outcomes requires a holistic perspective which can only be done through our innovative Leadership Design approach.