Power - it's use and abuse
by Andrew Bryant
Executive Coach and Leadership Trainer
Stop for a moment, and reflect who has power over you?
Sociologists usually define power as the ability to impose one's will on others, even if those others resist in some way. To put it a much simpler way, who has the power to get you to say "yes" even when you have reservations?
Chances are, the people who can get you to say yes have the ability to reward or punish you, or you value the relationship or respect their expertise or trust them implicitly.
Now think of the people over whom you have power. Do people say "yes" to you because they respect and trust you or because you can reward or punish them?
In the work I do, I am often asked to assist organisations to empower employees, or raise the emotional intelligence of managers or train people to coach for performance. To achieve these goals it is necessary to bring awareness to the individuals about the use of power. In 1973 Thomas A. Harris published the book "I'm OK, You're OK", in which he describes three power positions that are as relevant in workplaces today as they were in the 70's.
The first of these positions is the 'Victim'. The person playing victim (as opposed to someone who has been actually abused) is likely to behave as if powerless and give up. This is the disempowered employee who feels they can't make a difference because of their boss or the corporate culture. The victim will do the work required because he or she has to, not because they want to and so creativity and contribution are stifled.
The second position is the 'Persecutor'. This role is played by the person with perceived power; they will reward, punish, bully and bulldoze their agenda because they think they can. This is the manager with low emotional intelligence who does not know he or she has alternatives to get the job done without people feeling used and abused.
The third position is the 'Rescuer'. This person positions themselves between the first two and strives to keep the peace, however in doing so they often disempower the victim by over-supporting and therefore proliferating the cycle of control. In addition the rescuer often becomes a martyr and burns out.
These roles, when played out, lead to a toxic workplace with low productivity, low moral and high absenteeism or staff turnover. With the right tools however this dynamic can be changed into a corporate culture where people consult, participate and co-operate.
To transform the power game it is necessary to have the tools to change mindsets and develop skills. Many of the tools required I have described in previous articles so here is a summary for you now.
Firstly victims can stop the cycle by choosing responsibility. To make the change the individual must have a healthy self-esteem and realise each person is firstly responsible for their own thoughts and feelings. As they learn the boundaries of who they are responsible for and what they are responsible to, they step into their own personal power.
Persecutors can give up the habit and reap the reward of a productive workplace by developing their emotional intelligence which includes skills such as, empathetic listening, thinking like a leader/coach and developing the art of effective feedback.
Rescuers can discover that they help people best by facilitating them towards self-leadership and coaching them to an awareness of the consequences of persisting with their current role. Rather than an addiction to feeling needed, rescuers can have a healthy sense of satisfaction from encouraging others to grow.
Power games are insidious and persist because people adapt to the prevailing culture. What is often overlooked is the human cost and the cost to creativity and innovation and these can cause the organisation to lose the competitive edge.
If your organisation is experiencing the pain of power games then Self Leadership International can assist through our consulting, training and coaching. We won't rescue you but we can facilitate the development of self-leadership and effective people leadership. Send us an e-mail now for further details.
Self Leadership International has assisted individuals and organisations to increase their emotional intelligence. To find out more contact us.