Empowering vs. Disempowering Others

A couple of weeks ago, I learned a great lesson in empowerment at my church picnic. Our Men's Fraternity organized things, and did most of the work. Lots of people prepared food, cooked food, set up, kept the drinks coming, and cleaned up. Many of the picnic-goers brought chairs, blankets, and side dishes. Everyone had their own assignments and very little oversight or supervision.

I remembered a church supper where I single-handedly disempowered a whole group of people. Several years ago, we belonged to a church that observed Lent with Wednesday night suppers. These were simple affairs, typically soup and salad. No dessert and nothing complicated.

I happened to read the church bulletin and notice that different groups had signed up to host suppers: the choir, the youth group, etc. But some dates were open - no one had volunteered.

I thought, "well, I could easily put together a committee to host a supper." Of course, I forgot that I was travelling internationally and spending little time at home. And I hate committees. (They seem such a waste of time, isn't it easier just to do things myself?) Even so, I signed up with great intentions.

As you might guess, when the day of the Lenten supper drew near, my committee had not met. In fact, I never drafted a committee.

Undeterred, I went to the grocery store, bought a lot of supplies, and made a mess of soup and salad. I enlisted my hubby to help set the tables. (And I knew that people would volunteer to help clean up.)

The supper went off rather well, or so I thought. The problem - no one else was willing to sign up to host suppers. Rather than making it seem easy, I made it seem difficult. I had not involved others. In fact, I had disempowered a whole group of people who were interested and willing to participate, if asked. I forgot my leadership role.

OK, so I'm learning the hard way. Often, it seems quicker and easier to simply do it myself. But this approach is not sustainable in the long run. Better to recruit and empower others.