Encourage to INcourage

As I was Googling a subject, I was directed to the term “en.” I didn’t really know that it was a word or term. Evidently, it is.  It means “giving someone support or confidence.” Did you know that? I didn’t! Knowing that now, I got to thinking about the word “encourage.”

 

Here’s an excerpt from my book, The Power of SUPERvision:

 

My friend, Chief Master Sergeant (now deceased) Gene Gardner, once told me, “We, as leaders, can do only one of two things…we can do something TO our people, or we can do something FOR our people.” Doing something TO your             people is adversarial and produces little, if any, power. It may create negative power. Doing something FOR your people can empower them to be their best selves and give you more than you can imagine. The best way to do something FOR people is to do it WITH them. The end result of this process is having done something IN them. 

 

So, here’s where my thoughts are taking me. Maybe if we ENcourage someone enough, if we support them and help them develop confidence in themselves, the outcome is INcouraging them. We help them realize that they have the courage withIN themselves. I think that’s a very powerful impact a leader can make.

 

ENcouraging someone to have courage is important. It’s one of the things an Effective Leader does. Encouraging yourself, however, is critical. You see, we may believe that we “teach” others to be leaders, but the truth is that we SHOW them. That’s how they learn. It’s how WE learned. You’ve, surely, read a quote attributed to General George S Patton, that “We’re always on parade.” Our followers, and even our leaders and peers, are watching us. Constantly. If you don’t believe me, do something wrong!

 

If you’re going to encourage someone, you, yourself, have to do what you’re encouraging them to do. One of the virtues we seem to be lacking more and more in our culture is courage. In particular, the courage to do what’s right. It’s called integrity. You have to BE courageous to encourage.

 

Here’s a story from a book I’m currently writing. Dr Stephen Covey shared it with me many years ago. It touches on being the example. . . encouraging to INcourage.

 

            A woman approaches Gandhi with her son in tow. She asks Gandhi to convince her son to stop eating too much sugar. Gandhi agrees, “But come back and see me next week, please,” Gandhi tells her. A little confused, the woman agrees. The next week, the woman returns with her son and, once again, asks Gandhi to convince her son not to eat too much sugar. Gandhi agrees, takes the son aside, and convinces him to stop eating too much sugar. The woman thanks Gandhi and, as she’s about to leave, asks him why he couldn’t have done that the previous week. Gandhi replies, “Last week, madame, I, too, ate too much sugar.”!

 

I know I’m stretching the American language a bit, but that’s one of the great things about being an American and an artist. It’s called artistic license. It, often, takes courage to practice it. We need more courage in our society. Practice it yourself. Be encouraging to those you lead so that you can INcourage them to, also, be courageous!

 

Until next time, 

Be GREAT! You ARE!

 

¡HEIRPOWER!

 

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