💬 Thursday Thread: How do you practice sharing your power?
And how can you do more of it?
While leading Moms Demand Action, one of the most strategic things I did was to ask myself at the beginning of every year if it was time to step aside so someone else could step up. I’ve learned that power shrinks when it’s hoarded and it grows when it’s shared. That’s why I think all leaders, including Congress members, should plan to pass the torch before it’s pried from their hands.
But learning how to share power isn’t just for the most powerful among us. We all have power in our own right. And sharing power can be as simple as letting a family member host the holiday gathering you’re always responsible for. Or letting your partner handle the kids’ doctor appointments. Or tagging in a team member on a work assignment. When we share power, it makes all of the relationships we’re in—personal, professional and political—so much stronger.
👉 For today’s Thursday thread, here’s what I want to know:
How do you share power in your life?
If you haven’t thought about sharing power before, what’s a good way to start in your everyday life?
Welcome to the Thursday Threads, a weekly chance for us to connect with one another in the comments. Join me and other readers as we navigate important discussions. And a note: a difference of opinion is always okay, being unkind to one another is not. Let’s keep these conversations respectful.
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I actively seek out people with leadership potential. I find ways to bring them into the rooms where decisions and recommendations are made. Exerting power - done well - is a skill. I frequently talk with them about how I utilized power so that they are both witnessing and analyzing what happened, can ask question, and can practice in low stakes ways. I try to create opportunities for them to shine on their own. Someone who showed me these skills - someone I reported to - often says “all your successes are yours, and all your failures and setbacks are on me.” He taught me to lift up other’s achievements and speak well of them behind their backs in places where power is wielded.
The best way to share power is find something that others can do and then completely let go of even thinking about it, unless they actually circle back to you. Also, if the result of having someone else do a task that you have been doing is not getting the result you need, not want, then rethink the delegation or diplomatically, with kindness, ask them about whether they are happy with the result or not.