The fall harvest arrives upon us as soon as a year. The farmers gather the sometimes-scant rewards of their heroic efforts started months before. For those of us who are pastime or family gardeners, fall is the time for us to pluck the firm orange pumpkins, the deep green flowers of broccoli, and the plump red tomatoes from their vines. As we reap our rewards of months of work and waiting from the backdrop of the black, black earth, we realize our individual power. If not for our labors, if not for our devoted interest and timely response to environmental hazards, these fruits would not be borne. The seeds we sowed in the early spring have given us sustenance and safety for the coming frigidness.

Much like our work in the garden, we have no power singly, as power does not exist in isolation. Only when we work with other people and interact to create something of value, with continuous alertness to outside variables and others’ responses, do we have power. Our individual power enhances our personal and others’ capacities.

When the seedlings thickened, we thinned them so they would not choke every other out. When the vines fell from the weight, we supported them. When the drought threatened their very existence, we watered them. When the bugs invaded, we protected them. When the frost arrived nipping at their foliage, we shielded them. Via our power we gave birth to something clean and wondrous that would not have existed with out us. This was not fulfilled through power more than the seed, but through power with the seed, leaving ourselves open, vulnerable, and prepared to act with the atmosphere.

Energy has historically been seen as a scenario in which one must lose in purchase for another to win. That is not power, that is force. True power is linked with other people. True power is accepting the responsibility to act when required. True power is moving toward a vision of the future to impact change.

When we supervise other people, we must keep in mind, understand and accept the potential and limitations of our power. If we give in to the temptation to dictate someone’s existence, to tell somebody what to do, we strip other people of their power. This is a form of force, not power. Only when we help other people in recognizing and utilizing their personal power are we really powerful. To permit somebody to become empowered is a present that we can give.

The opposite of empowerment is dependency. Absolutely nothing and no one is totally dependent or helpless. Just as our gardens had been dependent upon us for some issues, they had been not dependent upon us for everything. The capability for existence was inherent in the seed, the sun, the soil and the rain. Without all these other forces we could not have willed or managed the gardens to grow. So it is with other people whom we help.

Our role then, as managers becomes one of teaching other people how to sow their personal gardens and, with that, reap their personal individual power. And for ourselves, when feeling helpless, fearful, and powerless to change, allow us keep in mind our gardens: those glorious green beans, or crisp cucumbers, that through our power had been created.

About The Writer

Linda LaPointe, MRA, is the author of the book, The New Supervisor, in which she describes how to develop self-managed employees to increase loyalty and reduce stress in the workplace. E-mail her at lapointell@yahoo.com