Leadership is about exercising power
Ultimately, leadership is about exercising power. The difference between different types of leadership is where the focus of power resides - that is, how we exercise power. Power is the most important requirement for success.
In our often too-polite world, we are afraid of the word “power”.
Our automatic reflex is to associate power with evil. It is nefarious, dominating, overwhelming, sleazy, slippery, shadowy.Â
Social and cultural icons reinforce this picture of fear: the tempter-snake in the Garden, the diabolical Mephisto, the soul-seller Faust, the Machiavellian Iago, the malevolent Jinn, the leering Dracula of movies, and fire-breathing Smaug.
Of course, the apotheosis of power in a corporate context is Gordon Gekko:
“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”
At best, we feel that power is ambiguous, like the Arkenstone or the One Ring - magical forces for good or evil depending on who possesses them and how they are used.
However, power is part of every aspect of our lives: our relationships with others, even at the most intimate or most distant levels. Our plans and actions, whether conceived alone or in groups. Our decisions and their consequences. Our very presence on earth and the stewardship we exercise for all our environments - familial, social, corporate, or ecological.
To lead effectively, we must embrace power. So that begs the question:
What do we mean by power?
Power is a human capability. Its effective use is our capacity to lead in different situations. How we use power within context determines how we lead successfully.
Real power is not about domination. It is about the ability to influence outcomes responsibly.
It requires confidence and values, influence and support, clarity and discipline, energy and insight, impact and creativity. But having power is not enough. Leadership depends on how that power is exercised.
Three ways leaders exercise power
In his Forbes blog What is Power, Really? (October 25, 2018), Rick Miller expands on the multi-dimensionality of power.
I organize his insights into this model and recommend reading his blog for fuller insight into each dimension.
We exercise: Power Over, Power With, Power To
| Â POWER OVER | POWER WITH | POWER TO |
| Command-and-Control: coercive power |
Persuade-and-influence: co-operative power | Empower-and-facilitate: constitutive power |
| Actors dominated by other actors | Relations of equal actors | Chain of processes of acting upon an action |
| Ego-logical process to change what others do | Eco-logical process to shape what others do | Subjectivation to form the way others form and reform themselves |
| Master/Servant | Shepherd/Herd | Coach: Self on Self |
| Obedience | Dialogue | Liberated counterpower |
| Government: calculated direction of conduct through rules and instructions | Governance: leading actors in networks through shared values/goals, negotiation, mutual adaption | Governmentality: steering via autonomous individuals who steer themselves, facilitated by practices, programs and self-technologies |
Leading exclusively in Column C (Power To) may be an ideal to strive for but may also be “too rich” for most corporate appetites.
Leading exclusively in Column A (Power Over) may be from a dinosaur age (like a mastodon steak) but has merit on occasion.
Leading exclusively in Column B (Power With) is probably normative in most corporations but might lack the clout of Column A and the spice of Column C - a bit vanilla.
We need all three - Power Over, Power With, and Power To - as the situation requires.
Leadership is situational
Ultimately, leadership is situational.
Given the different circumstances we face, we exercise power in different ways:
- Sometimes we need to manipulate the situation: Leadership is the power to manipulate, to be Machiavellian.
- Sometimes we need to ensure things are administered well: Leadership is the power of the system - KPI, SOP, ISO, Codes of Conduct, Codes of Ethics.
- Sometimes we must manage as professionals: Leadership is the power to plan, schedule, allocate resources, manage processes, and make decisions.
- Sometimes we need to focus on the talents of others to transform the situation for the better: Leadership is the power to motivate.
The challenge of leadership is not avoiding power.
The challenge is understanding it. And using it wisely.
Your Leadership Challenge
Think about a leadership decision you made recently. Now ask yourself:
Which type of power did I rely on most?
- Power Over — directing, enforcing, deciding.
- Power With — collaborating, persuading, building agreement.
- Power To — empowering others to decide and act.
Now ask one more question:
Would a different approach have produced a better outcome?