Empowerment is a popular term in my circles. It comes up in business coaching, and in poverty alleviation. I think the term gets misused sometimes. Powerful people doing things for people they perceive as less powerful is not empowerment.

In a recent workshop exercise my group came up with this definition:

Empowerment is interacting with an individual or group in a way that increases their awareness of their own power, extends an invitation to them to use their gifts to meet other’s needs, and gives them courage to realize their untapped potential.

The is one of your jobs as a leader.