YOU'VE heard the tale of The Emperor's New Clothes, by Hans Christian Andersen, right? Well, it might surprise you to learn that many leaders have been seeing, selling and wearing invisible clothes for years. What do I mean? I mean that leaders are sometimes deluded that they are managing, empowering and motivating staff.

Here's the problem: Management, leadership and empowerment are all concepts that come from an assumption of command and control. Think about it. You cannot empower someone unless you are the one with the power. Being empowered means that someone is giving you a bit more rope so you feel freer. But you are not free, and the rope can and will be retracted, depending on the situation and whether you do what the chairman or owner wants.

People are not managed. That's the invisible suit. Employees act compliant and respond favorably to empowerment initiatives. We think we have the power and that we are doing a great job leading people. The reason people don't reveal the naked truth is that it is often easier to let us think we are decked out in red velvet.

That's right, we leaders are the domesticated animals of the species Homo managerious, characterized by a small brain capacity but an ability to learn tricks. When we manage people, we're not managing them. When we empower people, we don't really have the power.

We should not strive to manage and lead our employees. We should strive for the opposite. What's the opposite of management? Unmanagement.

Imagine that you were in charge of wooing a big client to your firm. This client would generate a significant revenue stream and be considered a bread-and-butter account. How would you approach getting and keeping the client? You would:

• Prepare a prospectus
• Make a case for why they should select your firm
• Treat them like a valued partner
• Cherish the contribution their business would make
• Be proactive and positive in resolving any conflicts or disagreements
• Listen to and be interested in their ideas and perspective
• Help them develop and grow their business because itâ??s a win-win for you
• Thank them again and again and in many ways.

What if we saw employees in the same way, as valued clients? The company would benefit, employees would excel and we would not be fooling ourselves into thinking that we have magical leadership powers. Everyone wins! This is the basic premise of unmanagement. When we unmanage, we treat employees as partners and assume no power over them.

Perhaps you are thinking, "But what about the fact that managers can discipline and fire people? That's real power."? Nonsense. People fire themselves through their actions and performance. It often takes managers months to get up the guts to respond and follow through. The person in charge is the employee.

In the world of unmanagement, we think differently. We define and communicate roles from a context of partnership, service and collaboration instead of command and control. And here's the kicker: When unmanaged, we work harder and hold ourselves to a higher standard of performance. In a traditionally managed work environment, tired practices and processes dumb employees down.

Lisa Haneberg is the Seattle-based author of Focus Like a Laser Beam: 10 Ways to Do What Matters Most. She can be reached at lhaneberg(at)gmail.com or www.lisahaneberg.com.