The Leadership of Empowerment

“I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people.” (Brené Brown)

“And Jacob called his sons and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the end of days.” (Genesis 49:1)

The closing chapter of Jacob’s life is a climax of Genesis. Abraham’s journey, which began with a single individual who shattered paradigms and founded a new faith, has matured into the blueprint of a nation. In his final address, Jacob sees more than twelve sons. He sees the first seeds of a people.

As patriarch and leader, he understands the weight of his task: to consolidate belonging, commitment, and unity, and to shape the principles that will guide his descendants through history. A nation is not sustained by bloodlines alone, but by a shared destiny. By a “we” that must be deliberately built.

“Gather yourselves”: empowerment is formation for something larger

The greatest challenge of any collective is forging the bond that unites without erasing difference. The danger of tribalism, where each person protects only their own interests and agenda, is confronted with a single word: “Gather yourselves.”

This is the premise of a common and intentional story. Jacob does not deny individuality. He honors it, naming each son’s distinctive traits and contributions. Yet he states, without ambiguity, that the prerequisite for the journey ahead is the willingness of each to become part of something greater than himself.

Here is a crucial leadership lesson: empowerment is not ego inflation. Empowerment is the formation of people with identity, direction, and responsibility, capable of contributing to a mission that transcends them.

We explored diversity in earlier essays. Diversity is the richness of perspectives, approaches, experiences, and expectations. But without shared purpose and common objectives, diversity becomes fragmentation. When properly orchestrated, it amplifies the whole and dignifies the individual at the same time.

Each son receives an individual blessing. Jacob highlights each tribe’s unique gifts, strengths, and role. But he anchors everything in a non-negotiable foundation: unity.

His blessings also serve another purpose: setting high standards. Jacob articulates the potential he sees in each son so they themselves carry a directive of what they can become over time. It is not merely, “This is who you are.” It is, “This is who you can grow into.”

The Pygmalion Effect

There is a widely told story about Thomas Edison and a letter from his school. In its popular version, the school “gives up” on the boy and his mother, rather than reinforcing the label, protects a vision of his future. While the anecdote as commonly circulated is not historically reliable, Edison did explicitly acknowledge the formative power of his mother’s belief: “She was the most enthusiastic champion a boy ever had, and I determined right then that I would be worthy of her and show her that her confidence was not misplaced.”

The essence is universal: people expand when someone treats them as becoming, not as a problem.

In the 1960s, researchers Rosenthal and Jacobson conducted a study that became known as the Pygmalion Effect. They showed that our expectations shape other people’s performance. When we anticipate success, we tend to act in ways that increase the odds of success. When we expect little, we unconsciously reduce opportunity, patience, feedback, and investment. This is the core of what we call self-fulfilling prophecies.

Decades later, Dov Eden of Tel Aviv University replicated these dynamics in military and corporate settings, reinforcing the central insight: a leader’s gaze changes the leader’s behavior, and that, in turn, changes the behavior and performance of those being led. The conclusion is sobering and practical: “Leaders get the performance they expect.”

There is an essential ethical caution here: high expectations without support become pressure and cynicism. Empowerment is not demanding more and then abandoning. Empowerment is raising the standard while simultaneously raising the conditions that make excellence attainable.

In practice, Pygmalion leadership is expressed through very concrete moves:

• Name potential with precision (not generic praise; a specific vision of what you see)

• Assign challenges with protection (difficult tasks, paired with resources and cover)

• Short, frequent feedback (correction without humiliation; progress made visible)

• Time and attention where there is traction (real presence, not only accountability)

• Emotional stability (respect, consistency, psychological safety to try and learn)

The transformative power of a leader’s gaze

It is striking to recognize how much weight expectation and attention carry. Hasidic literature explores this idea deeply: when you look for the good in another person and judge them favorably, you are not merely describing reality, you are strengthening a path.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (Likkutei Moharan 282) writes:

“When you see something positive in another person and judge them favorably, you effectively lift them toward positive traits and allow them to redeem themselves.”

A few years ago, I was walking with my friend Rabbi Samy Pinto through the courtyard of the Iavne School, a Jewish School in São Paulo. Each child who greeted him received a warm smile and the same phrase: “How are you, tzaddik (righteous one)?” I found it excessive. After all, many of those same children regularly landed in my office for disciplinary issues.

Months later, I asked him why he did it. Rabbi Samy shared one of the most powerful lessons I carry about education, quoting his mother: “When I was a child, whenever I came home, my mother would greet me lovingly: ‘Samy, my tzaddik. You’re home! How was your day?’”

He continued: “I was restless at school. Teachers corrected me constantly. I received a lot of reprimands. At times, I doubted my own potential. But when my mother called me ‘my tzaddik,’ I would tell myself: I’m going to prove to her that I truly am a tzaddik. I’ll work harder. I’ll give her pride.”

And he concluded: “Every student hears many voices: teachers, coordinators, counselors, peers. But when I call him a tzaddik, I’m saying: ‘Do not let the voices that diminish you define you. Know that I believe in your potential. For me, you are a tzaddik. Now go and show what you are capable of.’”

This is not naivete. It is leadership. You choose which identity you reinforce and which narrative you weaken.

Belief in potential as a leadership principle

This is an exceptionally powerful idea, and it translates to the corporate world with both intensity and precision. As John Maxwell put it:

“Believing in people before they have proven themselves is the key to motivating them to reach their potential.”

Many people carry insecurity. Others truly do not believe they can. When a leader recognizes potential and offers support, they are saying: “I know you are capable.” Not as empty encouragement, but as a commitment: I will coach you, hold you to a high standard with dignity, and provide real conditions for you to succeed.

Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin frames this belief in almost theological terms:

“Just as one must believe in God, so too, one must believe in oneself.”

Belief in one’s own potential empowers, mobilizes, and sustains resilience. A leader who sees clearly and provides direction accelerates that process by reducing inner noise, strengthening courage, and clarifying the path.

Blessing as direction and empowerment

Jacob’s blessings to his sons were a compass pointing toward full potential. A true leader believes in those they lead, encourages them, corrects them, and empowers them to realize the best they are capable of becoming.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks taught that “A great leader creates leaders.” In blessing his sons, Jacob was shaping leaders for a future nation. And those leaders would carry the same obligation: to create more leaders, ensuring continuity and sustaining purpose.

In many families there is a beautiful custom when blessing children: the parents stand behind them, while the children look forward. I love this image as a metaphor for leadership. A blessing is not meant to trap another person in your gaze. It is meant to place strength at their back and horizon in front of them. Into that blessing go expectations, direction, love, and trust. The child moves forward with mission and courage. The blessing becomes propulsion, not constraint. A self-fulfilling prophecy in the noblest sense.

Rav Kook calls to us in stirring words:

“Rise, for you have power.
You have wings of spirit, wings of mighty eagles.
Do not deny them, or they will deny you.