Remember – if you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted. So often insecure leaders do all they can to hoard and protect their position and power by trying to do everything and making what they do nontransparent.  

However, as a leader, a central part of the job is in training and developing others. This includes people who want to move into leadership roles, similar to yours, one day. This shouldn’t be threatening, but understood. 

Therefore, taking on the mindset of a trainer — instead of a manager protecting work — helps us naturally look for ways to give a little more responsibility and empowerment to the people on our teams.

The leader is then able to identify and see which contributors put in the best effort, show the most aptitude, and should be given additional opportunities that could eventually lead to their personal advancement. 

Empowering team members to take on tasks you might do as a leader takes confidence, but it also engages the philosophy that teaching a person how to fish is more sustaining and caring than simply giving them a fish. 

Some leadership philosophies state a leader must never give their power away to others. Meaning, they must guard and protect it like a fragile thing, but the best leaders actually do the very opposite. They realize their power doesn’t come from a position, but in sharing and empowering others with what they have and have been given.

Likewise, as Christ followers, we understand God is the giver of all things and we are to be good stewards of all He gives, and this includes blessing others through the blessings we’ve been given – This multiples and spreads the gifting, and demonstrates faith fueled confidence.

Trying to hold on to power and positions demonstrates insecurity and a lack of faith.

We may be tempted to cling to things, but when we share and empower, we use what we have been given to help others develop professionally, personally, and perhaps even spiritually.