Page 43 - Appreciative Leadership

16 Appreciative Leadership

powerful—in your own way. Being and feeling powerful are essen-
tial to optimal performance.
In his 1994 inaugural address, one of the noblest leaders of our
time, Nelson Mandela, suggested that people fear their own power
more than their weakness:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest
fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light,
not our Darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am
I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who
are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small
does not serve the World. There is nothing enlightened about

shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. As we let our own
light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to
do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence
automatically liberates others. 2

So why do people fear being powerful? Why do they not give their
best? Maybe they simply don’t know that it is okay to be powerful. Per-
haps they don’t see other people around them being powerful; or they
see others being punished for voicing their opinions or otherwise tak-
ing risks. Perhaps they have never learned how to express themselves
freely and honestly; or they have been criticized for doing so at work
or at home. Perhaps they have not learned what their own strengths
are or how to recognize other people’s strengths. In essence, they do
not feel safe or supported to be powerful. They don’t know that they

will be okay being powerful.
A turning point came in a union and management retreat we were
facilitating when one of the union executives said this about the com-
pany workforce: