(Reading) Sources of Power

Reference

• How to Be a Good Boss: Start by Understanding Why You Want to Lead (Article)
• Dr Rob Yeung offers tips on power (Video)

Psychological Definition of Power

• The extent to which you feel in control of your own activities as well as those around you.

Identify When We Feel Powerless & The Result

• When managers feel they are being sidlined or pushed out of the organization…
• When job hunters go interview after interview but get rejected time and again…
• …and more…
• Such lack of power impairs you higher ability to think. This may cause you to be less able to make plans, and you may be more easily distractible, etc.

Short-term Sources of Power

• Research finding: Writing down what is most important and meaningful to you and why it is meaningful may help you feel a stronger sense of power in the short term.
• Examples:
  • Family: Parent? Siblings? Partners?
  • Career: What do you get out of your career?
    • Do you want to contribute to a greater good?
    • Do you want the status you get out of your career?
  • Out side of work:
    • Personal health
    • A cause of community group
  • Other valuable thing:
    • The opportunity to exercise your creativity or autonomy

Long-term Sources of Power

• There are two roots to building up your long-term sources of power: dominance and prestige.
• Dominance is a set of tactics–behavoirs and language–which coerce, manipulate, or even outright bully people. It is about taking power from people.
• Dominance-oriented leaders are swift, decisive decision makers and are good at uniting an organization behind a single vision. However, these leaders are sometimes willing to sacrifice the best interest of the group in order to keep their hands on the levers of power.The problem with it is that it encourages people to undermine you, to try to take power back from you.
• But prestige is about demonstrating genuinely valuable skills or knowledge to help your colleagues, and this make people give you sources of power. Therefore, prestige is probably the more sustanable way to build up your long term base of power.
• Prestige-oriented leaders achieve their status by displaying their knowledge and skills, and convincing people they are worth following. They are good at fostering creativity and getting their teams to innovate. However, because their power comes from being liked, they can sometimes forgo making the right decision in favor of a popular decision. Additionally, such leaders pull their punches when it comes to giving hard feedback.

English Vocabularies

• time and again
  • frequently
  • Example: Job hunters may feel powerless when they go interview after interview but get rejected time and again.
• Pull one’s punches
  • to be less forcefull (on purpose)
  • Example: Prestige-oriented leaders pull their punches when it comes to giving hard feedback.
  • Extension: pull one’s weight: to try one’s best