The Tribune

By MICHELLE MILLER

EVERYBODY, well almost everybody, gets into the habit of looking to be empowered by someone, some job, some title or even some relationship.

The challenge here is that they think the power in the word empowerment comes from outside. While this may be a popular perspective, it is unsustainable and often leads to frustration.

My position is simple. First I see the word empower is ‘power’, which tells me that the power in empowerment comes from within. Simply because nobody can give you any power which you do not believe you are supposed have.

More profoundly said, life cannot give you anything that you do not believe you deserve to have, no matter what it may be. This is as true as the sky is blue.

If you think that someone else is responsible for your empowerment, then you will believe that you are without power. If you believe that you will be dead wrong.

You see, life is not some small thing; life is huge. To live this huge life and to experience it in its most powerful form you must think bigger about the things you are thinking about, especially the things you think about your empowerment.

Let us explore the idea that the power in empowerment comes from within not without. Consider if you will that sprinkled throughout the literature of ABC is the highly touted phrase of ‘employee empowerment’, however, there is no substantive mechanism in place to support this notion. As a result, employee morale is low, absenteeism is high and service quality is dismal. The employees still feel disempowered; words alone do not produce empowerment.

On the flip side of this empowerment coin, you have employees showing up to the ABC company with a low level of self-confidence and little personal power. They are unsure about who they are or what they are actually good at, an inner feeling that may become a barrier to their progress.

While it is imperative that the ABC company make some changes to cement their commitment to employee empowerment, it is a major challenge to give power to an individual who feels inwardly powerless. More often than not, the combination of giving so-called power to a person with little personal power produces arrogance, lack of cooperation and much frustration in the workplace.

It is for this reason that you must accept responsibility for your own empowerment. Do not wait for some company to give you a job or promote you to some higher position before developing your inner authority. When building your personal empowerment, it goes with you to the job, promotion etc. The truth is real empowerment ignites when it collides with the spark of power that resides within you, but only if you are aware of its presence.

As a 25-year-old working in the public service I had a yearning desire to transition into the private sector. Despite not having the paper qualifications, I had to believe that deep within me I had the personal power to perform in the private sector. This belief made me take leap of faith, not because of some power that came from outside, but because of that unstoppable power within. It gave me the audacity to step without seeing the staircase. You can do it, too. Stop waiting for somebody to give you what you already have.

No matter who you are, where you’ve been or what you’ve done, take responsibility to empower your life.

Leader to leader, remember that nobody can empower you as much as you can empower yourself. Make today the day that you begin to build your empowerment from the inside out. In so doing, you live the empowered life that you love.

What do you think?

• Michelle M Miller is a certified life coach, leadership expert and author. Questions or comments can be sent to e-mail coaching242@yahoo.com, or call 429-6770 and visit www.michellemmiller.com or send snail mail to PO Box CB-13060.