Communication is a key activity for leaders – your team will take their cues on what is important by what you spend time discussing. People want to know how they and the organisation are doing; they need clarity and an opportunity to test their understanding. Beyond the content, you also communicate your values when you speak with honesty and courage.
Rachael Cowin, Associate, Legitimate Leadership.
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Question Of The Month
I delegate tasks, but I still end up redoing the work. What am I missing?
Exploring The Difference Between Delegation and Empowerment
The difference between delegation and empowerment lies in the level of control and autonomy given to the direct report.
Leadership by Permission: Reflections From Our Latest London Open Programme
In February, alongside Ian Munro, I facilitated our latest two-day open programme on the Legitimate Leadership Framework in London. It brought together leaders from policing, the NHS, cyber security, chemicals, education and small business – a breadth of sectors and seniority that made the discussion both rich and refreshingly honest.
Are You A Multiplier Or A Diminisher?
In this month’s leadership reflection, Liz Wiseman invites us to reconsider a fundamental question: Is our presence as leaders expanding or limiting the intelligence and capability of those around us?
Question Of The Month
By Sean Hagger, Managing Director, Legitimate Leadership International.
Question: I delegate tasks, but I still end up redoing the work. What am I missing?
Answer: Delegation and empowerment are often confused, but they are not the same skill.
When we delegate, our thinking usually sounds like this: “Here’s the task list, and here’s when it needs to be done.” There are moments when this approach is appropriate – but only when we’re assigning work to people who already have real maturity in that task. And let’s be honest: when we do this, we’re not empowering them.
If you find yourself redoing the work afterwards, it’s a clear signal that you misjudged their readiness. You believed they had task maturity when they didn’t. That’s a dangerous gap, because as a leader, you’ve set them up to struggle by not giving them what they need to succeed.
Empowerment requires a completely different mindset.
Instead of viewing tasks as boxes to be ticked to a specific standard by a specific deadline, we see them as opportunities to build capability in our people. The focus shifts from getting it done to growing someone through it. We begin asking better questions:
- Who stands to benefit most from owning this challenge?
- What do I need to provide – guidance, context, resources – for them to succeed?
- How do I create space for safe failure without removing accountability?
- Am I giving opportunities evenly, or always to the same few people?
An empowerment mindset means you don’t step in and redo the work. They do the work — and you support them with what they need to grow. Empowerment fuels development; delegation alone does not.
And growth changes everything.
Growth creates stronger players on the pitch. Stronger players deliver better results.
To submit your question, email info@legitimateleadership.com
Article: Exploring The Difference Between Delegation and Empowerment
By Leonie van Tonder, Associate, Legitimate Leadership.
The difference between delegation and empowerment lies in the level of control and autonomy given to the direct report.
What Must A Leader Consider When Deciding Which To Use?
- Direct report knowledge and skills
- The amount of control and autonomy required
- The amount of control and autonomy the leader is willing to give.
What Will Prevent A Leader From Empowering A Direct Report
- Fear of being outperformed – the person might be better than me
- Fear of Failure – if the person fails, it will reflect badly on me
- Fear of Redundancy – I might be considered as not needed any more
All these thoughts point directly to an attitude of Taking instead of Giving.
At Legitimate Leadership, our development discussions work towards moving people from taking to giving.
Read the full article by clicking here
Leadership By Permission: Reflections From Our Latest London Open Programme
By Sean Hagger, Managing Director, Legitimate Leadership International.
In February, alongside Ian Munro, I facilitated our latest two-day open programme on the Legitimate Leadership Framework in London. It brought together leaders from policing, the NHS, cyber security, chemicals, education and small business – a breadth of sectors and seniority that made the discussion both rich and refreshingly honest.
Despite their different contexts, the leadership challenges they described were similar. That is often the first breakthrough moment for participants: realising that the pressures they carry are not unique to their organisation or industry, but part of a broader human dynamic around authority and responsibility.
The two days were packed full of conversation and value for our participants.
Ian talked about the idea of the “accidental manager” – individuals who find themselves in leadership positions because someone left, someone was promoted, or someone had to step up. Too often, authority arrives without preparation.
“Legitimacy is not given because you have a sign on the door. It is granted by those who follow you.”
That single idea reshapes the way people see their role. Authority may be assigned, but legitimacy is earned. It is measured not by hierarchy, but by the degree to which people willingly support you.
We also challenged a deeply embedded assumption about performance.
Read the full report by clicking here
Podcast: Are You A Multiplier Or A Diminisher?
By Liz Wiseman, Researcher, Executive Advisor & CEO Of The Wiseman Group | New York Times Bestselling Author Of Multipliers
COMMENT ON THIS VIDEO BY IAN MUNRO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LEGITIMATE LEADERSHIP: At Legitimate Leadership we spend a lot of our time and energy highlighting the primary role of INTENT in establishing legitimacy for our leadership. This is as true today as it was nearly 40 years ago when the Legitimate Leadership Model was crystallising. It is also not the full story. Benevolent INTENT is necessary, but it is not enough. INTENT also needs to be evidenced in our mindsets and behaviours. Liz Wiseman’s “Accidental Diminsher” – sometimes a well-intentioned leader who is simply insecure, or too quick to save – is a case-in-point. At Legitimate Leadership we are frequently asked whether it is possible for people to experience our INTENT differently from how we intend. The answer is easy. Yes. Of course. And that is why podcasts such as these are so critical. They allow us to work on our mindsets and behaviours so that, over time, our INTENT is experienced as intended more often than not.
Incidentally, Wiseman’s five disciplines, when well-intended, are wholly consistent with the Legitimate Leadership Model. We encourage all leaders to continuously work on all five:
- Becoming a talent magnet
- Creating intensity not stress
- Debating decisions
- Extending challenges
- Instilling ownership and accountability
Our summary of the podcast: In this month’s leadership reflection, Liz Wiseman invites us to reconsider a fundamental question: Is our presence as leaders expanding or limiting the intelligence and capability of those around us?
Based on research with more than 150 executives globally, Wiseman distinguishes between Diminishers, leaders who unintentionally create dependency by stepping in, giving answers, and taking control, and Multipliers, who unlock others’ potential by creating space for thinking, contribution, and ownership. The difference is not intention or talent, but mindset. Multipliers operate from a belief that people are capable and resourceful and lead accordingly.
She identifies five key disciplines of Multiplier leadership: acting as a Talent Magnet by recognising and deploying people’s strengths; creating a high-support, high-challenge environment as a Liberator; stretching people beyond their comfort zones as a Challenger; fostering robust thinking through inclusive debate as a Debate Maker; and transferring real ownership as an Investor.
A particularly powerful insight is the concept of the Accidental Diminisher, leaders who, through enthusiasm, expertise, or care, unintentionally limit others. Stepping in too quickly, always having the answer, or rescuing too soon can send a subtle message: “I’ve got this, you don’t need to.” Over time, this shapes cultures of dependence rather than growth.
This perspective strongly echoes the principles of Legitimate Leadership, in which the leader’s role is to develop others’ capability, confidence, and accountability. Both approaches challenge leaders to move away from control and towards development, from being the answer to building people who can find answers.
The invitation this April is one of honest reflection:
Where might you be unintentionally diminishing those around you? And where is there an opportunity to multiply?
The encouraging message is that Multipliers are not born; they are developed. With awareness and intentional practice, every leader can learn to amplify the intelligence and potential of their team.
Listen to the podcast by clicking here
