Enable Others to Act

Collaboration is a component without which even the strongest organizations eventually fail. It is crucially needed for an organization to make forward progress (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). In order for great and extraordinary things to happen in organizations, the support and involvement of all members must exist. This collaboration, however, does not happen overnight. Leaders have to develop an organizational climate that fosters trust, promotes positive and productive independence, and encourages face-to-face interactions to discuss issues and brainstorm solutions. To complement the trust concept, leaders must also believe in their followers and have confidence in them so that their apparent and hidden abilities can be discovered and recognized. Such practices promote mutual respect and an increased level of accountability among the leader and the members of the organization (Kouzes & Posner, 2012).

This module will explore the fourth of the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Enable Others to Act. Furthermore, you will engage in discussions surrounding the idea of trust and its impact on leadership. You will also complete the fourth outline of your leadership development action plan based on the knowledge acquired from the reading and activities in the module. Finally, you will submit Milestone Two, which encompasses the next two of the five practices (Challenge the Process and Enable Others to Act).

The Fourth Practice: Enable Others to Act

The practice of enabling others to act presents the idea that leaders must actively engage their followers in the decisions being made in the organization to foster collaboration (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). Further, leaders must have confidence in the abilities of their followers in order to promote growth and forward movement. The practice consists of the following components:

• Fostering collaboration through the creation of a climate of trust and the use of emotional intelligence
• Strengthening others through promoting individual leadership across the organization

 

 

This milestone will explore the practices of Challenge the Process and Enable Others to Act, which you learned about in Modules Four and Five. Factoring in the feedback from Milestone One and using your leadership development action plan, address the following:

• Analyze how you will use the Challenge the Process and Enable Others to Act practices to improve the three leadership areas that you selected in Module One.
• Select one leadership theory you reviewed in this course and analyze how it will help you with the leadership areas you selected.