‘You Have to at Least Try’: Empowering your Team to Lead

By Erica Johnsrud

“There’s no such thing as can’t. You have to at least try.” Words I heard many times growing up from my Dad. Whether he realized it at the time or not, those words would shape my outlook on many areas of my life. I continued to watch as the adult influences in my life growing up supported each other and cared for each other as community members and friends. There’s no such thing as “can’t” when you have a whole community behind you.

Early on in my career I was met with a challenge when an experienced woman told me that I shouldn’t be in my position because I was too young and had no experience. My boss at the time assured me that was NOT the case and continued to empower me to trust my gut, keep learning, and always focus on my strengths. Even with all that powerful positive empowerment, at times I focused on that small voice telling me the opposite.

I feel so fortunate to have had mentors, leaders, and friends who believe in me and see more in me than I have ever seen in myself –I’m working on trying to see those things, too! Recently, my leader said to me, “I wish you could see yourself how I see you.” And that really stuck. Why don’t we focus on telling people those things and empowering them to be their favorite selves?

Empowering each other to know that, “There’s no such thing as can’t…”

The support I have seen throughout my life is rare – especially as a woman being lifted up by other women. I know many of my friends and colleagues have not been as lucky, especially in sectors that are historically primarily male.

Dale Carnegie & Associates recently did a study on employee engagement that showed feeling valued, confident, connected, and empowered are key emotions for engagement. A lack of support and empowerment affects all areas of our lives, and especially affects our performance in the workplace. When we flip that on its head, we will see women overcoming fears to “…at least try.”

At Dale Carnegie Training it is a pillar of who we are as a team to empower each other, and the outcomes are multiplied both in team cohesiveness and performance. Alexis Scott, people development strategist, shares:

“As a recovering stay-at-home mom with a large busy family, taking the leap into a career after on and off work experiences made me nervous for my performance, and perceptions of my talent … This imposter syndrome became more magnified when my family came down with COVID in the fall of 2021 and I spent over 20 days caring for my family through quarantine and working from home. My team and leadership reached out almost daily, checking in with me as a human and mother—not just an employee with a task list. I was supported and empowered to focus on the needs of my family and felt valued and understood in a time of crisis and a situation that was out of my control. The extension of compassion was what I needed as a woman and mother with so many other responsibilities and stressors. There was never a doubt from my leadership on my commitment or desire to perform and being uplifted in a stressful time made me empowered to come back even stronger when life went back to normal.”

Our newest employee at Dale Carnegie, Gabbie Sharp, shared her experience throughout the hiring process of joining a new, all female team:

“From the first coffee meeting with one owner, to an informational interview with the other, I have felt challenged and supported all along the way. I knew when they asked me to prepare a presentation for my final interview, they weren’t looking for perfection but instead to examine my potential and my fit before joining this loyal close-knit team.

“They were pushing me out of my comfort zone because that’s exactly what I asked for. My little piece of advice? Trust your intuition. As women, we need to learn to trust our intuition when it comes to feeling like we are in an environment where we are supported and encouraged to grow.”

When you elicit these emotions amongst your team, you’ll see a powerful shift in engagement and motivation for success. You’ll see your team trying new things and stretching their comfort zones leading to innovation and growth in your market.

It’s important to remember that the emotions employees experience at work directly affect their performance and, in turn, your bottom line. How do you want to show up every day as a leader to make sure your team is feeling valued, confident, connected, and empowered? How can you make sure that they feel supported to try to accept new challenges and projects? Because as my Dad said, “There’s no such thing as can’t.”

Erica Johnsrud is the client experience and brand champion for Dale Carnegie Training of North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota.