Power.
A word that in the employment world of past decades often meant the ability to dictate. To decide. It was wielded in a business world that was hierarchical. Slow. Static.
In contrast, how might we describe today’s business world? I would use these words:
• Fast
• Flat
• Competitive
• Merit-driven
• Collaborative
The leader of yesterday who depended upon his position (and the leader in question was always a man) to impose his will on his workers wasn’t, in my sense of the term, a leader at all. Leaders inspire. Leaders articulate the goal, get others to share in his or her excitement, and determine how best to get there. One of my favorite quotes comes from the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery:
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to go to the forest to gather wood, saw it, and nail the planks together. Instead, teach them the desire for the sea.”
Early in my career I craved – I don’t believe that’s too strong a word for it – a certain type of power. I wanted to be “promoted” so that I could “manage” people and be “the boss”, with little understanding of what that meant.
Now, I’m a bit smarter. If you aspire to greater formal power in whatever you do, let me make a suggestion: use your under-tapped influential power first.
Why do I say it’s under-tapped? Because you are presumably human, influential power requires effort, and humans are lazy. Influential power takes work, but even more than that, it requires us to be responsible. Let’s face it – it’s quite a bit easier to say to ourselves (and our co-workers) that if WE were in charge WE would solve the problems of the day. What a deal – we get to be smart in front of others and avoid personal responsibility all at once.
The farther I’ve progressed in my career, the more I’ve seen influential power sitting in people’s toolbox, unused. Frankly, it can be frustrating to a leader when someone says they want more money, more responsibility, more title, but have done little to use the awesome power of influence they have at their immediate disposal.
Here are some things that, for me, paint a picture of what influential power is.
Influential power is anticipatory. People who wield this type of power indicate they know where the business is heading, and think about issues before they arise.
Influential power is collaborative. It is often hidden in open-ended questions posed to others.
Influential power is humble. It doesn’t seek to shine the spotlight on someone’s self-perceived brilliance. It shares credit.
Influential power requires listening. It doesn’t start with the answer and try to talk people into it. It allows others to feel like they’re part of a dialog, rather than an agenda.
Everyone can use influential power to change their environment, to improve their results, to drive greater effectiveness.
And guess what? You’d be surprised how many humble, collaborative, anticipatory pawns wind up becoming knights without ever asking for more title. Funny how that works, isn’t it?
Here’s your assignment: find one thing in your life where you believe there needs to be change, you have the power to influence the change you believe needs to be made, but you cannot order others to participate in the solution. Right now, write out for yourself the following – it should only take a couple minutes:
1. Define the problem (this should take the most time).
2. Describe the negative consequences of not addressing the problem.
3. Think of who would most directly suffer from those consequences.
4. Write down three things you can do to apply your influential leadership to solving the problem (hint: it seems like one of your tasks, among others, is to have a discussion with the person you identified above).
That’s it. Good luck!