Ep. 26: The Power of Leading from Behind

**Episode Summary** When did you last follow someone else? Most high-achieving leaders never stop long enough to ask that question. And that silence is costing their teams more than they realize. In this episode, L. Michelle Smith draws from the final chapter of her bestselling book *Call and Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church* to explore one of the most counterintuitive concepts in leadership development: the power of leading from behind. Built on the positive psychology principle of power with over power over, this episode makes the case that sharing power is not a leadership risk. It is a leadership strategy and one of the fastest ways to re-engage a disengaged team. **What You’ll Hear in This Episode** Why leaders who are always out front cannot fully see what is behind them, and what that costs the people they lead. The social science behind power with over power over, rooted in the work of Dacher Keltner at UC Berkeley and the foundational theory of Mary Parker Follett. How Edward Deci and Richard Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory explains why genuine autonomy is a fundamental human need, and what happens to performance when that need is met. Why being a good follower is an emotional intelligence skill that most high achievers have never been asked to develop. A micropractice for identifying the one decision you have been holding onto that someone on your team could own completely. **Research and References** Dacher Keltner — Power and Social Intelligence, UC Berkeley Mary Parker Follett — Power With vs. Power Over Edward Deci and Richard Ryan — Self-Determination Theory L. Michelle Smith — *Call and Response: Ten Leadership Lessons from the Black Church*, Chapter 10 **Your Powerful Thought for the Day** The leader who knows when to step back is always more powerful than the one who never learned how. **Your Powerful Question for the Day** Who on your team is waiting for you to trust them enough to lead, and what is it actually costing you to keep holding that power? **Go Deeper** Get your free leadership toolkit and subscribe to FlightPath: soaracademy.nsccoaching.co Join The Circle — L. Michelle’s private leadership community: lmichellesmith.com/thecircle Pick up *Call and Response: Ten Leadership Lessons from the Black Church* wherever fine books are sold. Request L. Michelle for speaking, keynotes, or workshops: lmichellesmith.com/speaking Take the Heart-Centered Leader Assessment: SOARacademy.nsccoaching.co/a/CallandResponse Subscribe to the FlightPath newsletter in your inbox every Monday: soaracademy.nsccoaching.co/subscribe **About Her Next Power Move** Her Next Power Move is the podcast for high-performing leaders navigating career ascension with clarity and confidence. Every other week, host and executive producer L. Michelle Smith delivers evidence-based leadership insights rooted in applied neuroscience, positive psychology, and culture — in a powerful ten minutes built for busy professionals. Paid subscribers on Substack hear episodes first and get direct access to L. Michelle. Subscribe at lmichellesmith.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lmichellesmith.substack.com/subscribe