The words unleash and empower appear to be very similar at first glance; however, they are rooted into two different meanings. The difference between those two meanings has been driving a subtle, slowly developing, but fundamental shift in the ways in which we view individuals in our societies and cultures.
Empower practically means to give someone else your power, or to share your power with another. Here are a few recent examples of people empowering me:
A good friend of mine inviting me to a conference where he was the keynote speaker. He mentioned me and my organization from stage several times, and during breaks, took the time to introduce me to influential people he knew at the conference.
A few years ago, my business partner and founder of the business, stepped aside for a year and asked me to run the business on his behalf during that time.
In both of those examples, people shared their power with me. It was theirs for the giving and my role was to graciously receive that power. Empowerment is a great practice both on the giving end and the receiving end. I support empowerment completely and believe it has been, and will remain valuable as long as there is power to give and receive.
The concept of unleash is quite different than that of empowerment. Unleash refers to the development of latent power, ability, passion, experience and gifts that are already inside of an individual. The concept of unleash is rooted in the world view that every single human being was born with innate worth and capabilities. I often reference a biblical concept from Ephesians 2:10 called Unleash the Masterpiece – the idea being – every single person ever born is a uniquely designed masterpiece, capable of greatly influencing the world around them.
Erwin McManus, pastor of Mosaic Church in California says it this way:
“There has never been an ordinary person born on this planet – ever!”
This worldview is relatively new – and is gaining momentum. Against the backdrop of history, common-folk were not seen as very valuable. Nobles, royalty, caste systems, etc., all worked against commoners at best, and at worst, enslaved and oppressed common-folk. Even in the days of the industrial revolution in the United States, assembly line workers, poverty stricken people living in slums, and other marginalized people groups had little value and protection in society.
Rights for women, the poor, civil rights, and other movements of the individual have created a groundswell of momentum for the concept of unleash. The recent seismic shifts of globalization, the democratization of mobile and computing technology, the internet, and most recently 3D printing have created a substantial foundation on which to unleash the masterpiece inherent in every individual.
While we as a society have become better at empowerment over the years, our capacity to fully unleash people is in its infancy. How do individuals optimally unleash themselves? How do organizations create a systematic environments to unleash the individual and collective masterpieces in their midst? These are important, relevant questions as we move further into the era of the Unleash Movement.
One of the nuances of this movement is, that the responsibility for the movement itself is shifting from the elite to the masses. While Erwin McManus noted that there has never been an ordinary child ever born, he also bemoans the fact that:
“Many of us die, painfully, tragically ordinary.”
The elite leadership of our culture, the givers, bear the primary responsibility for empowerment; but we, as individuals, bear the primary responsibility for our personal unleashing. This is a big deal. While we need our environment and the people in our lives to assist us in the unleash process, the buck ultimately stops (and starts) with us individually.
Governments cannot pass laws to make you unleash. Organizations cannot force you to unleash. Parents and teachers cannot impose unleash on their children and students. We have to want it, we have to be proactive, we have to work to make it happen – each of us, individually.
We can create systems, frameworks and processes to create the optimal environment in which those who are willing can fully unleash their masterpiece. This is an intentional, deliberate and intelligent process for the both the individual and the support systems around them.
The Unleash Movement has already begun. For the first time in history, the foundations of the world are developing to provide an opportunity for all of us, from the least to the greatest, from the richest to the poorest, from the most powerful to the weakest among us, to fully unleash the masterpiece within ourselves. Do you believe those around you are masterpieces waiting to be unleashed? Do you believe it about yourself? What are you willing do about it? There has never, ever been a better time than right now!
Leave a Reply