Power vs Influence

Original Premise of Power: “It’s better to be ‘feared’ than ‘loved’.”

Compiled by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz 6/13

Power 1.0 = Muscle & Weapons
BC thru WWII warfare (and most of it “un-fair” to the Victims) to Terrorists

Power 2.0 = Market Share, $$$, Coercion in business
Monopolies (or near M): AT&T before deregulation, IBM when they had most of the Computer market, Standard Oil before they were broken up + Big 3 Auto Manufacturers before Japan entered the market.

Power 3.0 = Value, Role-Models, Persuasion & Negotiation
Influencing (vs forcing) people by appealing to their natural inclinations & talents to fulfill their & the organization’s interests & needs.

Let’s review the Myths associated with these Power types

Myth #1. Power by Force – that attempts to control another’s behavior by providing or withholding Resources (food, $$$, knowledge, affection, etc), threaten or administer Punishment (physical, mental, job termination, social ostracism, etc)

Myth #2. Using Deception to Win. Attempting to get or maintain power in order to achieve their goals by cunning, scheming & unscrupulous methods. However, one’s ability to get & maintain power should be based on the ability to understand & meet the needs of the individual – while also meeting the goals of the organization. Today, using Social Intelligence to resolve conflicts, negotiate, reduce or eliminate group tensions, is more effective long-term than deceptive methods

Myth #3. Power flows from the top & is carried out by the worker (bees???)
If power is not given (ie, by election) or earned (by performance), the people without power can ban together (in Unions, Revolutions) and constrain the actions of those in power (a strike, protest or rebellion.

Power tends to corrupt. “Absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
Power drives actions in three dys-functional ways.
1) Relying on typical stereotypes of personalities to understand behavior
2) Acting on one’s own whims, desires, impulses, etc with out consideration of consequences.
3) Going down the Sociopath – as a person with anti-social – sometimes criminal – behavior, who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

Use your Power today to encourage more sociable behavior to meet today’s social expectations. As we discredit the long-standing myths & mis-conceptions about power, we can better identify the qualities that people in power should have and better understand how they should use their power. As a result, we’ll have less tolerance for those who try to lead by deception, coercion or un-due force. They will “empower” people from lower to the lowest level by providing them with training on the organization’s policies, so they can make the decisions at the direct interface with the Client or Customer. Therefore, more leaders will be using Power 3.0 to get the employees & organization’s goals.

Comments: Did this article help you to understand the use of Power better? Is there anything you could add?