“Sometimes leaders think that they should make all the decisions and that that’s what leading is. And when you do that the message that you give is 'I need to make the decisions because I’m better than you are.' And that’s horrible.  But when you empower people and GIVE them the opportunity and teach them, and don’t throw them to the wolves but allow them to start making decisions progressively and involve them, that is saying 'What you think matters and you are capable of doing this.' And that conveys respect and that conveys trust.” – Gloria Balague

And who is Gloria Balague? She is a Clinical Associate Professor Emerita in Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She grew up in Spain and is back living there now, in retirement, after a lifetime of work in the USA. Gloria worked as sports psychologist for the Chicago Bears from 2015-2020 – she has worked extensively with USA Track and Field, USA Gymnastics and USA Field Hockey. She was at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics as a sport psychologist and the list goes on and on for her.

Throughout her journey, she has been asked time and time again to join organizations because they just knew that they needed her. If you are a leader of any kind – listen to Gloria and go back to the people you lead and be better than you were when you came.