Power Surge

A

Management

Column

By Barb Springer Beck

Spring 2003

Are you power-hungry, powerless, or powerful?  Power is neither inherently good nor bad, yet often gets a bad rap.  How power is manifested, rather than power itself, determines whether it is a force for the good.  The natural world offers us some examples.  While floods can scour destructively, they also deposit soil.  Current research by the U.S. Geological Service on flooding in the Grand Canyon is seeking to determine how best to restore the beneficial effects of flooding to the canyon.  And, as we’ve seen repeatedly, forest fires can be simultaneously beneficial to the ecosystem and destructive to the built environment.   

What exactly is power?  The two definitions that most enlighten this discussion are found in Webster’s: possession of control, authority or influence over others; or the ability to act or produce an effect.  Simply put, power or lack of power affects our ability to get things done.  For this reason alone, you should be concerned about your power.  But here’s another compelling reason—research has shown that people who feel powerless over their work experience more stress and associated health problems than those who have a sense of power over their work.  Powerlessness can lead to anger, hopelessness, and even depression.

So it pays to think about your own power.  Modesty aside, how would you respond if asked, “Do you have power?”  I’d suggest that you probably do have power, though it depends on your situation at any given time.  One indicator that you have power is that others seek your input and listen to you.  Most of us find that rewarding.   

Let’s consider your current roles in life: adult, child, mother, spouse, biologist or forester, supervisor, coach, Sunday school teacher, or library board member.  Simply by virtue of the fact that you are an adult, you have power over children.  If you are a parent, presumably you have power over your children.  With your own parents, you may feel either powerless or powerful depending on their health and circumstances.  You probably have power in certain instances with your spouse—for example, in deciding where you vacation together.  In another instance—maybe his golf obsession—you may find you have very little power.   In short, there are many different kinds of power and power shifts depending on the situation and the players involved.   

Power is sometimes, but not always, associated with position.  In the workplace, you may or may not have power associated with your position.  For example, if you are a supervisor, you have power over your subordinates.  You probably have the ability to approve leave, make awards, direct work, promote, and/or terminate.  You need to accept that role and wield that power carefully and surely.  Maybe you don’t supervise anyone in your daily work, but are responsible for maintaining the computer system for your office.  In this role you have power associated with access to information and communications.  What happens when the network is down?  Work practically ceases, and the most important person or resource is the one who can fix the problem, the information technology specialist.  To accept that responsibility is to bring your power to bear at an important time.

Spotting Power

Try and recall meeting someone who exuded power.  What things made you believe that person had power?  There are both verbal and non-verbal cues associated with power.  Non-verbal signals of power can include erect posture, head held high, a firm handshake, the use of personal space, and/or a confident appearance.     

Verbal clues about power include clear and articulate speech, an assertive voice, and command of the language.  In 1980, Tessa Warschaw pointed out in Winning by Negotiation (New York: McGraw-Hill) that characteristics often found in women’s speech, including reticence, lack of precision, being indirect, and speaking with a question mark in one’s voice, were indicators of powerlessness.  I believe a lot of women have made progress in verbal assertiveness since this observation!  Nevertheless, these characteristics can be monitored in your own speech so that you become aware of the messages you are indirectly sending to others related to your power and confidence.   

Kinds of personal power   

It can be helpful to understand different kinds of power.  Some kinds of power are desirable to cultivate while others are to be avoided. 

Physical Power

Perhaps the most obvious form of power is physical power, or power of size and strength.  As we witnessed in the 2002 World Series, Barry Bonds has physical power.  Obviously, physical size and strength played a more important role in earlier stages of our evolution, but the truth is that it still plays a role in relationships.  As women, we often must be vigilant about our personal safety, and I would argue that we are quite attuned to situations in which we are the less physically powerful person.  Beyond issues of personal safety, situations abound in everyday life where someone larger and stronger than we are, be it a man or a woman, has made us aware of that fact and so tipped the power balance in the situation.  

Coercive Power

This type of power is based upon control over another person or one’s ability to take something away from another person.  Synonyms for coercive power include tyranny, dominance, and coercion.  Coercive power is the reason the word power can carry a negative connotation.  Coercive power might be exercised in the workplace by a supervisor who denies leave or vacation requests without good cause.  Scott Adams regularly pokes fun at management’s coercive power in the Dilbert comic strip when the pointy-haired supervisor directs his employees to perform acts irrelevant to their work just to demonstrate his power over them.   

Informational Power

This is the power to persuade based upon facts and information.  A political candidate that can verbally demonstrate a better grasp of issues in a debate may gain the power to win the election by garnering additional votes. 

Expert Power

Expert power emanates from information which has been mastered.  Each of us has encountered in our work someone whom we believe has a great deal of knowledge about a particular subject.  People who are considered experts on a subject are respected and asked for advice on that subject.  In making decisions about natural resources, we rely on a variety of experts, from biologists, to silviculturists, to soil scientists.  When making investment decisions, we generally value advice from an economist.   

Legitimate Power

Power obtained by an office or position is called legitimate power.  Individuals understand that the holder of a particular office, whether it be a Senator, National Park Superintendent, or Regional Forester, have a certain degree of power inherent in their position.  Deference is generally exhibited to people with legitimate power regardless of how one might feel towards them as a person. 

Think about the situations in which you have or don’t have power, and consider what you can do to increase your personal power.  There are no magic formulas, but there are some suggestions.  

1)    Take a hard look in the mirror and/or ask a trusted friend, “What am I communicating to others based upon my speech, my posture, and my dress?”  If you think you can do better in how you carry, express, or present yourself, work on improving those things. 

2)    Know what you want.  Knowing this gives you power.  You gain and sustain power by knowing your own limits, the right time to make certain moves, building a track record, and knowing the strengths, vulnerabilities, and needs of others.    

3)       Conduct yourself consistent with your values and words.  According to Stephen Covey, writing in his book The Seven Habits of Highly-Effective People (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989), the key to your influence is your actual conduct, which flows out of your character or the kind of person you are.  Based upon your character, others come to trust or distrust you.  If people trust and respect you, they are more likely to seek your council, thus giving you influence and power. 

4)    Build your skills and confidence.  Powerful people are all about feeling comfortable with themselves, their abilities and knowledge.  Gaining experience and furthering your education, whether it be formal or informal, allows you to build mastery.  By doing this, you’ll be building reserves upon which you can  draw for informational power. 

5)    Take care of your health and your body.  Working out with weights for example,  can make you feel stronger and more sure of yourself.  Confidence in your body is communicated non-verbally and can be a benefit in situations where physical power might be an unspoken, but very real factor. 

We’ve talked about what defines power, different kinds of power, spotting power, and how you can enhance your personal power.  But why should you care about having power at work?  You may or may not be convinced that you need to cultivate the power you currently have, but you’ll probably agree that being powerless is not desirable.  The bottom line is that having power and wielding it responsibly increases your ability to affect outcomes.  So, whether for your own benefit or that of others, go ahead—build your power, and feel the surge!