It is used to build and to enhance. And it is founded on the bedrock of love. We may mistakenly offer or give up our own power to leaders, but they will not accept it. They gently return it to us enhanced by their own expression of its value. This is the true meaning of the term empowerment.
Leaders empower no one, except themselves.
They simply awaken us to our own innate capacity, and encourage us to express it in the pursuit of our own vision. Organizations are founded on an altogether different understanding of power. Further, it seems likely that the more an individual relies on managerial power and authority and uses them to punish, reward, and motivate, the less the individual is likely to experience his or her own personal power. Climbing the management ladder may be the best way to the top of the organization, but it is probably the worst training for leadership. And therein lies the dilemma.