Every leader faces a choice: hold on to people out of fear, or grow them so they can climb from one peak to the next. Only one of those choices creates lasting impact.
A Tale of Two Leaders
I’ve worked for both types.
Leader One believed he had it all figured out. He was smart, driven, and even visionary—but he operated out of scarcity. Because he lacked self-awareness, he couldn’t see how his insecurities leaked into his leadership. Delegation was rare. Trust was thin. Growth conversations were almost nonexistent.
When I finally left the organization, he asked me if I knew what the hell I was doing—as if my aspirations could only exist inside his four walls. His leadership left me stifled and small.
Leader Two was different. Within weeks of joining his team, he asked me about my five- and ten-year plan. I told him my dream was to run my own business one day—something most bosses would interpret as disloyal. Instead, he said, “That’s fantastic. Let’s find ways to help you get there.”
He gave me projects that mimicked running a business, coached me with questions instead of just giving answers, and checked in not just about my work but about my family and my life. Five years later, many of the skills I use daily as an entrepreneur trace directly back to those opportunities.
Two leaders. Two choices. Two very different outcomes.
What World-Class Thinkers Say
Simon Sinek reminds us: leaders eat last. True leadership is about serving others, not consuming their talent.
Adam Grant points out that great managers don’t hoard knowledge—they multiply it by empowering others.
General Stanley McChrystal writes about shared consciousness and empowered execution: the best teams thrive when leaders push authority and trust downward.
The Hudson Institute of Coaching and the International Coach Federation both emphasize that leaders who adopt a coaching posture—listening, asking questions, fostering growth—create sustainable performance, not just short-term results.
The Center for Creative Leadership has decades of research showing the differentiator of high-impact leaders is not technical brilliance but the ability to develop others.
The evidence is overwhelming: leaders who empower, multiply, and launch others win in the long run.
Scarcity vs. Abundance Leadership
Here’s the tension every leader faces:
Scarcity Leadership:
Hoards talent.
Fears being replaced.
Defines people only by their role.
Believes loyalty means staying forever.
Abundance Leadership:
Develops talent.
Extends trust and responsibility.
Sees the whole person, not just the job.
Believes loyalty means helping people reach their own dreams—even if it takes them elsewhere.
Scarcity leadership creates compliance. Abundance leadership creates commitment.
The Hardest Part: Letting People Leave
If you’re doing your job as a leader, people will grow. And growth often means leaving.
That departure is not a failure—it’s your legacy. The mark of a great leader is not how many people stay forever, but how many leave better, stronger, and more prepared for the next peak.
The leaders we remember most are the ones who launched us, not the ones who trapped us.
Which Type of Leader Are You?
Ask yourself:
Do I see my team as extensions of my own agenda, or as people with their own dreams?
When someone brings up future aspirations, do I get defensive—or do I get excited for them?
Am I creating opportunities that prepare them for the future, even if that future is outside my organization?
Will people look back and say I was the leader who gave them wings, or the one who clipped them?
Ready to Choose Abundance?
I help leaders operate at their best by doing the inner work first—gaining clarity, building self-awareness, and learning how to show up with intention. When leaders do this work, they multiply their impact, deepen their relationships, and create cultures where people thrive both at work and at home.
If you’re ready to move from scarcity to abundance and become the kind of leader who grows people, not just results—let’s connect.