Power!

Do you desire to be more effective in all of your roles in life, including your leadership roles? I do, and I assume you do, too. Leadership experts define the essence of leadership as being influence. Top-selling leadership author John Maxwell cuts to the chase by saying, “Leadership is influence — nothing more, nothing less.” To increase our influence, we need to understand and apply the concept of power. Power is the capacity or potential to influence — to affect others’ beliefs, attitudes, and actions. Of course, people can use power for selfish or evil purposes (e.g., Hitler), but let's assume we want to use power to serve others and make the world a better place.

To better use power, it’s helpful to know the bases of power that we can draw upon. It’s important to understand and have a multidimensional mindset. To maximize our influence, we can intentionally use and develop multiple bases of power, and not rely on just one or two.

Based on what a variety of experts have discovered (and validated by my own experiences and discussions with others), it seems there are primarily 10 potential bases of power. Experts on power sometimes group these into two categories: personal power and position power.

Personal Power

Let's start by examining some specific bases of personal power, which is defined as the influence capacity a leader derives based upon their personal relationships and characteristics.

1. Referent Power

Referent power comes from being trusted, respected, and well-liked. We gain referent power when others trust what we do and respect us for how we handle situations. This is a desirable source of power that can be developed as we intentionally build positive relationships and prove ourselves trustworthy. I agree with poet Maya Angelou’s insight: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

2. Expert Power

Expert power comes from a person’s expertise — their skills, accomplishments, and knowledge. Philosopher Francis Bacon observed, “Knowledge is power,” and it’s true. Expertise and knowledge can range from understanding job-specific tasks to soft skills like knowing how to deal with difficult people. Developing our expertise — and sharing it with others — is a healthy source of power.

3. Moral Power

Moral power is attributed to a person who has a strong moral compass, who consistently lives out inspiring values, and who is quick to apologize and own up to failings. Martin Luther King Jr. gives us perspective when he said, “I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right, and that is good.” Moral power is certainly something we all seek to earn.

4. Charismatic Power

Some people are blessed with magnetic personalities and the extraordinary ability to inspire others. For those with this giftedness, this can be a useful source of power when combined with other healthy sources of power (e.g., moral) and used for positive purposes.

5. Connection Power

Connection power comes when a person has developed strong connections (relationships) with key influencers, experts, and other resources. We can build more connection power when we network and build relationships with a wide range of people who can help us and the other people we are trying to serve. One way to build connection is to selflessly support others and assist them when they need help. We can also practice my 3 Rs, which are showing respect; recognizing people for who they are and the value they bring; and rewarding them in tangible and intangible ways. Connection power is also a healthy source of power.

6. Political Power

Political power arises from a person’s ability to work with people and social systems to gain their allegiance and support. Political power is developed by learning how to get things done within an organization, and understanding the “ropes” and how to effectively achieve objectives within the corporate culture. Political power can be abused and used for self-serving purposes, but when used with altruistic motives, it is a source of power that is valuable to us.

Position Power

Position power is the power a person derives from holding a particular office or rank in a formal organization system.

7. Legitimate Power

Legitimate power comes from the position a person holds. This is related to a person’s title and job responsibilities. By itself, this source of power may result in a certain level of compliance, but not necessarily a strong sense of commitment and cooperation. If legitimate power is used for the benefits of others instead of yourself (i.e., following the servant leadership philosophy), it can be a key component of the multidimensional power we seek.

8. Reward Power

Reward power comes from a person’s ability to bestow rewards. Rewards may come in the form of pay and benefits, bonuses, gift cards, job assignments, preferred schedules, time off with pay, and other valued benefits. Rewards can also be of an intangible nature, as modeled by businessman Sam Walton when he explained, “Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They are absolutely free and worth a fortune.” Rewards that are used fairly and sincerely can be a useful source of power to recognize and reinforce desired behaviors and performance.

9. Informational Power

Informational power is when an individual possesses the ability to limit or grant access to relevant information to other people. The positive and preferred use of informational power is to share information as broadly as we can, and help people feel like “insiders” versus “outsiders.” I like the principle of erring on the side of overcommunicating versus under-communicating, as this leads to increasing our power with others.

10. Coercive Power

Coercive power rests in the ability of a person to force another to comply with an order through the threat of punishment. Coercive power can result in short-term compliance, but in the long run, it produces dysfunctional behavior. This type of power is not recommended except perhaps in rare, emergency situations.

Here are a couple of closing thoughts about power. First, true power is something we earn and can’t demand from others. Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s famous quote applies: “Power is like being a lady: If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”

Second, power can be used for good or evil purposes and has the potential to corrupt us if we are not careful. Plato observed, “The measure of a man is what he does with power.” And Abraham Lincoln counseled, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

Let's expand and use our power to serve others — and do what we can to make the world a better place.