"Enflamed with the study of learning and the admiration of virtue; stirred up with high hopes of living to be brave... and worthy..., dear to God, and famous to all ages." - John Milton

Leaders are by definition "stewards" of the trust, hope and beliefs of others. To perform their acts of stewardship, leaders must practice and master three essential tasks:

=> Engage people

=> Empower people

=> Encourage people

Many leaders have a problem applying those 3 "E"s to their leadership goals, actions and conversations. Here are a few strategic ideas you can use to inject the three "E"s into your leadership styles and behaviors.

Engage the Hearts, Minds & Wills of People!

"No seed shall perish which the soul hath sown." - John Addington Symonds.

When you plant a positive vision into the fertile fields of their hearts, minds, wills and emotions, your venture is sure to succeed.

Your task is to help your partners, associates, peers and constituents or clients to

=> Connect with,

=> Believe in,

=> Commit to,

=> Organize for

performing that mission-critical activity, reaching for a desired objective or completing some specific task.

The intent, consistency and integrity of your leadership style, behaviors and attitudes must demonstrate the worthiness of your visionary ideal or principles.

In a word, you use your dreams or ideals to motivate and inspire the confidence and commitment of others.

Empower the Skills, Performance & Competencies of People!

Empowering people means

-> linking them with the knowledge, resources, assets and processes they need,

- preparing them for the tasks, activities, objectives, challenges and problems they will work through,

- directing them to the sources of tools or materials, supplies and resources, specialists or networks to enable their efforts,

- guiding them in identifying, classifying, mapping or modeling, learning, analyzing, evaluating, innovating and creating, managing, venturing and leading for any situation.

By empowering, we mean facilitating the supply of energy, mass and capability to perform the work at hand. To provide people with the energy of a belief, competence or meaning.

"True hope is swift, and flies with swallow