Power in the person:
The power you hold is based on your credibility. According to the World English Dictionary, credibility is defined as, “The quality of being believed or trusted.”
Credibility is made up of three main points: competence, character, and charisma.
- Competence: this is the knowledge and expertise that other people believe you have. The more people believe you have knowledge and expertise, the more they will be influenced by you. For example, if you see a doctor’s degrees hanging on the wall in his office, you are likely to believe him more because it’s apparent he has a vast knowledge in the subject.
- Character: This involves the motives and intentions behind your influences. If people see that you are to gain a great deal personally, you may not be seen as having good character. This is why it’s important to be honest, and show people that you can be trusted without having to personally gain from the situation.
- Charisma: This is other people’s views of your personality. If you’re friendly, assertive, and dynamic, people will tend to see you as being charismatic. However, people will think the opposite if you are aloof, reserved, hesitant, and non-assertive.
Activity:
There are ways to enhance your credibility, Ask these questions to yourself.
Questions for your consideration:
- What types of power have you used before?
- Do you have reward power and/or coercive power over anyone?
- Do you exerciseit?
- If you do, in what ways do you exercise this power?
- How have you discovered your communication, or lack there of, affecting your leadership?
- What are your dominant power characteristics and how do they assist you in influencing others in the workplace?
- What power characteristics do you prefer to see in those who oversee your work?
- How is the concept of empowerment handled in your organization?
Coaching Application
How to navigate through a matrix Organisations where work needs to be done by someone not reporting to me but I am accountable for the overall results. This is the key challenge I feel people faced in matrix and networked Organisations. How to use the appropriate balance between Power and influence?
Power Vs Influence
Source: Richard McKeown
Let’s take a look at those distinctions and characterize them with regard to effective and enduring leadership.
Power is positional. Influence is personal.
It is not unusual for people to ascribe power to positions of leadership. With the position of CEO, for example, comes a certain degree of power. That power has more to do with the position than with the person occupying it. In other words, it is
conferred on the position. Influence on the other hand has more to do with the individual holding the position. It is conferred on a person by virtue of who they are, not what merely what they are.
Power is wielded. Influence is granted.
This distinction deals with how leaders use their position. Are they “dictatorial” in their approach, affecting outcomes by fiat? Or do they seek consensus and buy-in, seeking to influence the proper decision or direction from those they lead? Note the distinction: power is wielded by those in position. Influence is granted by those being led. Or put another way, power demands; influence commands.
Power pushes. Influence persuades.
The ability to persuade is a key characteristic of effective leaders. This goes to the whole “vision thing” by which successful leaders define and articulate the overarching mission of an organization and links strategies and tactics to fulfilling that vision. In other words, they make the case for what an organization is doing, why it is doing it, and what the outcome will be. This is part and parcel of bringing people along and persuading them that the course is right, has a purpose and will have a positive outcome for the organization, and by extension, for them.
Power is resented. Influence is respected.
Many years ago, I read where a utility took great pains to refer to their product as “energy” rather than “power.” The thought was the term energy had a more positive connotation than did “power.” It’s an interesting distinction that has stayed with me over time. It is much the same with “power” and “influence.” If one exerts the power of their position, they run the risk of being resented. Conversely, if one earns the respect of those they lead, they will be much better able to influence.
Power expires. Influence endures.
The corporate and cultural landscapes are littered with “leaders” who used their position to wield power until it expired through organizational succession, Father Time or a governing board. Their passing from the scene, if not enthusiastically cheered, is greeted with relief and anxious anticipation of their successor. Soon, they are but a fading memory and lament their loss of power, power held by virtue of their position. On the other hand, there are leaders whose passing from the scene is lamented by those they led. Yet they are leaders who continue to have influence.
Why? Because they understood that the mark of true leader is not necessarily what they accomplish in the here and now, but by what those they influence accomplish beyond their term and time.
To be successful in getting things done in organizations, it is critical that you be able to comprehend the patterns of interdependence among organizational participants and to diagnose their relative power. How do power and influence dynamics work in organizations? What are the key sources of power in organizations? Why do we see political conflict in organizations? How can political conflict be handled to serve constructive ends?
Consider Questions on building credibility quickly, cultivating mentors and networks, and managing ethical dilemmas.
Coaching Tool:
The need of power and influence is greatly felt when there is critical projects or planned organisational change that needs to be executed. Senior Leaders are typically entrusted with such projects. There need to be questions on the challenges of change implementation in organizations. To implement planned organizational changes, you will need to overcome the potential resistance of other organizational members and persuade them to adopt new practices. Organizational change implementation is thus an exercise that requires the effective use of power and influence.
How can you be an effective change agent in your organization? What are the factors that are likely to affect your success?
What are the challenges and opportunities of co-leadership in organizations. Under what conditions can co-leadership be effective? What are the challenges associated with co-leadership? What are the potential benefits of co-leadership?
Power/ Influence Grid
Bring Awareness:
Source: Gardner et al(1986)
The classification map is a four quadrant one. Four regions are marked on two dimensions. One of the dimensions is power, drawn in two segment low and high. The second dimension is the measure of influence, again arranged in low and high regions. Thus you have four regions that can be called high power-low influence, high power-high influence, low power-high influence and low power-low influence. Correspondingly communication tasks you need to take on for yourself are to manage the top group, or the high power-high influence group, very closely indeed. Their communication needs should be fulfilled at all costs and on highest priority. This group of stakeholders has the most involvement as also the most power to make things happen. The next group that of high power yet low interest, need to be kept satisfied with just the right amount of information. You need to regulate the information flowing to this class of stakeholder as high quality but necessary information. You cannot afford them to lose interest in your project. It should be just enough to keep your project on their radar map. The class that has high influence or involvement in your projects yet not too high in the hierarchy to wield heavy authority also is an important class. You need to keep this group really satisfied as when the need comes they can help you out with their involvement. You need to spend minimal effort to keep the fourth group monitored. This is the class of stakeholders who have low authority and low involvement too. Only principle involved here is not to antagonize them.
Coaching Questions:
Take the list of stakeholders and map them on this matrix as illustrated in the picture above. Though qualitative the way the stakeholders fall on this grid will clearly tell you what to do about them. These dimensions have to be qualitative and relative. You may need to seek help in the form of expert judgments to classify some stakeholders. But, do remember, the assessments could well be very subjective. Make allowance for that by taking multiple opinions about a person, if necessary.