"When you blame others, you give up your power to grow."
Author Unknown
Many years ago, I would facilitate workshops on managing power and start by asking for people's perception of the word "power". I would receive positive answers like "strength and influence" along with negative perceptions of "greed and manipulation." Today, most of the words I hear about power are positive. We have come a long way. I am not sure why this change has happened. Perhaps the remnants of Watergate made citizens wary of those in powerful positions or the more dictatorial style of management from years ago. I do know that leaders today are working more on sharing power and empowering their employees by pushing decision making to those employees nearest the problems. All of these changes have been powerful but I still work with employees who feel powerless in certain situations to solve a problem or change their circumstances.
I want to help change that by introducing Ken Blanchard's five sources of power to help us become better self-leaders and problem solvers:
Position power- having a title that gives you the authority to make decisions and gather the resources to solve a problem
Task power - knowing a task so well that others look to you for direction when they experience a problem with the task or one similar
Relationship power- Knowing someone or having a close relationship with someone who has the ability and resources to help you solve your problem
Knowledge power- having the degree, credentials or certifications that allow you to access information to solve a problem along with being perceived as knowing how to solve a problem
Personal power- having the charisma and interpersonal communication skills to motivate and influence others towards your way of thinking
So, how do you use one or more of these types of power at work? Let me give you an example. Recently, I had a client request training from me that I had never done before. I knew it was not a huge stretch for me to learn this new training so I reached out to an expert in the field that I knew well, relationship power, who helped me quickly learn the basics and master the new training.
Another workshop participant mentioned she needed a new piece of equipment but felt powerless to get it. She decided to use her personal power of persuasion and task power of knowing how the old equipment doesn't work to pull together a well-thought-out proposal for how the new equipment could save the department money.
Question for You:
Do you have a problem right now that seems to be holding you back? Do you feel powerless to this problem?
Action for You:
Look at each of the power definitions above and identify which power sources you have that may help you move beyond your problem. Know that positional power is not the only power that is needed to help you "unstick" from a situation. The more of these power bases you have to draw from the more successful you will be at solving problems. By taking more interpersonal communication classes to improve your personal power, networking to build new and stronger relationships, gaining knowledge in your field and going deeper in task development will help you gain the confidence you need to take on any problems that come your way.
"A river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence."
Author Unknown
