Power: What It Is, How to Secure It, and What to Do with It

0:01This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+. Good sleep is everything. That's why Oli's Science Back Support is made with a blend of melatonin and L-theanine for both kiddos and grownups.

0:35So when your mind won't switch off, you've got something that can help. Erasing thoughts and restless nights won't stand a chance. Find Oli's Sleep Solutions for the whole family at Oli.com. That's O-L-L-Y dot com. So when we're talking about power, we're talking about two types of power. First of all, there's personalized power, which is how powerful you feel in your life. You can make choices for yourself without asking permission from others. And then there is social power, which is how much power you have over people or how much power you have over things that other people want. We need personal power to feel good in life.

1:12And in an organizational context, it's really social power that is most relevant. How do we get that social power? It's often by seizing control over things that other people value in that system. And I don't only mean tangible things. It can also mean people's attention. It can mean reputation. So socialized power is really that power over others.

1:38Many people are uncomfortable talking about power. My philosophy as a scholar is no taboos. Everything in my classroom is fair game to talk about because I think dialogue is so important. However, there's a negative connotation or a negative taste that sometimes comes with that word power. And I think that is because of the way the media highlights those with power. They tend to highlight those who abuse power. But if we think about the people that have made really benevolent differences in this world, they've had incredible power. And I don't mean control over material resources only. Reputation is also a source of power, right?

2:15What are other people saying about you? Followers. The more followers you have, right? For example, Nelson Mandela, right? Very low personal power. As a prisoner for over two decades, you would say almost none, but incredible social power through the followership that he was able to garner through the vision that he had. In a workplace context, leaders are always trying to figure out, how do I get more social power? How do I get more power over the environment or the groups around me, even a team? Do we hope that those leaders are using it for benevolence? Yes, we do. So to get power, you need bases of power that you harness.

2:52And there are sort of three categories of bases of power. The first ones are innate. And when we talk about the taboos of power, these are the ones that are really taboo that people don't like to talk about. I think it's important to acknowledge them, right? Gender can be a base of power in certain environments. There are environments where it helps to be a man that just by being a man, you have more power. And there's actually environments where it helps to be a woman. Physical attractiveness can be an innate base of power. For men, at least height can be a base. These are things that we're born with that we cannot change.

3:22And we need to acknowledge that they are bases of power, including in the workplace. Then comes what I call primary bases of power. These are things that you can work to earn, which help to elevate your power in the system. They can be education, right? Certain degrees, trainings you can go through, tacit knowledge. How much do you know that system that you're working in? Your allies, right? Who is supporting you? Your reputation? What are people saying about you? Your network centrality. Are people having you?

3:52Jennifer Jordan:Chevy is called the heartbeat of America for a reason. With SUVs made to move with your rhythm. The versatile Equinox tackles your entire day. The spacious Traverse fits your crew and your whole weekend. And tracks bring style with value you can count on. All infused with tech that has your back. So your drive always hits the right chord. Chevrolet. Together, let's drive.

4:46Apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Having to go through you to get things or to get to people that they want. And then there are secondary bases of power that come from these primary bases of power. That is placed in the hierarchy, right? Having more allies helps lift you up in the hierarchy. Having a better reputation can help you to be a more central player in the network. So network centrality is both a primary, it can be also a secondary. Bases of power are mutually reinforcing. If I have more allies in that system, I'm also probably going to move up in that hierarchy.

5:23Or if people are saying more things, better positive things about me, it also might help me to become a more central player. Now, if you want to get more power in your system, I recommend doing a power audit. First of all, say what are the bases of power that are most valued in this system? Listen for the people around you who is listening to whom. Who are the movers and shakers in this environment? So listen and watch. What is it that these people have? What is unique about them? Is it that they're very articulate? Is it that they've been at this company a long time? Is it that they have a lot of context internally, maybe a lot of context externally?

6:02Is it that they have credentials from their previous roles? And then look at yourself and rate in a way that is as objective as possible. How much of these power bases do you have? How good are your allies in this organization? How much of a central player are you in the network? And to say, OK, what are those secondary bases that are valued in that company that maybe I don't possess, but that I could develop and start to come up with a plan of developing those? It takes about six months of observing the environment to be able to do this. So you can't do it on your first day in the company, but you can do it after about six months.

6:40For young managers, the two bases of power that are kind of the low-hanging fruit are expertise and allies. And what I mean by that is that if you have an expertise, you're an amazing Python programmer, or now it's with AI, right? You have some background in machine learning. You come in, you can be the youngest one in the room and people listen to you. They want to hear what you have to say and they will be influenced by you. The other one is allies. Even if you're very young and junior, having one or two of the movers and shakers in that environment that are backing you up, that are saying, I vouch for this person.

7:15I've seen them. I trust their abilities. I trust their intention. That can be an incredible route to getting power fairly quickly at a young age or a young stage in your career. For leaders that are a bit more developed, the two power bases that I've seen being in general most critical to gain are reputation, what are people saying about you, and network centrality. This is a really important one to understand about power. Power is completely dependent on the context. So, for example, being able to run a kilometer very quickly gives you a lot of power on a track team, but it's not going to matter so much.

7:51This episode is brought to you by State Farm. listening to this podcast instead of doom scrolling smart move another smart move getting help from one of state farm's 19 000 local agents when you choose to bundle home and auto bundling just another way to save with the personal price plan prices are based on rating plans that vary by state coverage options are selected by the customer availability amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state and we're live on match day as doug reaches for a buffalo wing. He's got it. Oh, and he's gone for a can of Pepsi, too. What a finish. There's no doubt about it.

8:27It just tastes better. Match days deserve Pepsi. Boardroom, right? So power is context dependent. I also experienced this shift firsthand. I used to be in a very traditional academic institution, a public university. And there, there were two bases of power. Expertise. Were you the number one expert in a field? Did you publish 20 papers and did your peers cite you as the expert? And resources. Were you bringing in big government grants? In this new environment at IMD, I took my six months, I did my power audit, and I realized expertise is important, but not the most important. And resources, we don't apply for grants, so I could put that power base to the side.

9:09In this new environment, I needed to develop two things. One, reputation. caring about what my colleagues and what my clients were saying about me, because that made all the difference for getting in new clients and getting on new programs and network centrality. Were you a central player in the network? And did people need to go through you to get to important contacts and companies and to get things done institutionally? So I had to say, okay, drop my ego, let my ego go and say those two power bases that I worked so hard previously to develop are no longer so valuable. How do I develop the new ones?

9:45I talked a lot about having power, but having power, gaining power isn't the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is to show leadership, which includes influence, right? To have influence on that environment. You can have a legitimate base of power, let's say hierarchical position, but not have what is called status, which is other people's recognition of that power. So maybe you've worked for a boss or had a boss or an individual in a company that has a lot of hierarchical position, but no one listens to them. They're not influential. As a power holder, once you've gained that power, you want to gain the status, people's recognition of it.

10:21And that has to do a lot with how are you using your power? Are you using your power to bring the organization or the team up? And are you using power to help others? I worked, for example, in a medical institution, and there was one person who was really a power wielder, used their power very selfishly, but they were the only expert in this one area of medicine. And so people needed to rely on them, but they weren't respected. For this individual, let's call him Dr. X. For Dr. X, his expertise was very valued. But playing the competency game is dangerous because if someone else were to come in that system with equal competency, people, I guarantee, would have been happy to see Dr.

11:02X go. So using power for benevolence and also showing self-control, not abusing that power and abusing the people through having that power. You know, there's an ethical standpoint, but it also helps you to get that status and it will help stabilize our power in return. Power is not good nor evil. Do you want to use it for benevolence or mere self-aggrandizement? And thinking about also not only how much power do you have, but how do you get others to recognize it? And that recognition, that status is also often about how you use the power. Are you using it for yourself or using it for others?

11:39Thank you.