Emboldening an Empowered Team
I love this saying by Lee Iacocca:“ Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”
© napatcha | stock. adobe. com
Lead
Iacocca, former president of Ford Motor Company, took over Chrysler when it was leaning towards bankruptcy. He asked Congress for a loan, arguing that if Chrysler filed for bankruptcy, the government would have to spend more on unemployment compensation than on keeping the company in business. The loan was granted and a year later, Iacocca announced Chrysler’ s first profit in many years.
During his turnaround of Chrysler, he brought the convertible back into fashion and introduced the minivan.
By leading in this fashion, Iacocca inspired( emboldened) his people to feel confident enough to behave in a particular way. He steadily encouraged them by letting them know they faced no opposition. They began to spend time in the process of growing, of learning of their abilities to turn this company around, to make a profit, to pay off debt, to become a member of an empowered team.
In 1983 Chrysler paid the government back its $ 1.5-billion federal government loans and in 1984 the company posted profits of $ 2.4 billion( higher than in the previous 60 years combined). How did he do all this? He emboldened his people to be empowered.