The Laws of Business Success
Under the Laws of Leadership
Power gravitates to the person who can use it most effectively to get the desired results.
Power is the ability to influence the allocation of people, money, and resources. It exists in all human relationships and situations. It is essential for the effective functioning of human life and society. It is neither good nor bad. It just is.
Power can be used in business in two ways: (1) to advance the interests of the organization or (2) to advance the interests of the individual. When power is used skillfully to advance the interests of the organization, it is a positive force. It can improve the situation of all the people who are affected by it.
If power is used, or abused, to advance the interests of the individual to the detriment of the organization, then power becomes a negative and destructive force that can harm the organization and the people in it.
Any given organization or system has a fixed quantity of power. If one person has more power, then another person will have less. All power struggles are aimed at getting a larger part of this fixed quantity of power.
The only way that the total amount of power can be increased is by increasing the size of the company, the quantity of activities, and the number of people in the organization.
The leader tends to be the person who is the most capable of seizing the reins of power and holding onto them. But ultimately, true and lasting power in an organization comes from the consent of the followers. Leaders become leaders and acquire power because other people want them to have that power. This is especially true in an open system where people are free to leave and take their support away if they are not satisfied with the way the power is being used.
The only way to keep power once you have acquired it is to prove yourself to be the most effective at getting results by utilizing that power.
Power is invariably the "power to do." What are you tasked to do with the power you have? When you demonstrate your ability to get results with the power you have, you will attract to yourself opportunities to expand your power. As your power expands, you will get more and more opportunities to get ever greater and more important results. Your power and influence will continue to grow as long as you demonstrate that you can deploy it more effectively than someone else.
Four Kinds of Power You Can Develop
There are four major types of power you can develop. The first is expert power. This is where you start. You concentrate on doing your job in an excellent fashion. When you are recognized as being very good at what you do, you acquire greater power and influence than people who are only average or mediocre. With expert power, you attract the respect and attention of the important people in your organization. You receive more opportunities to do what you do well. Doors open for you.
The second type of power you can develop is personal power. This form of power comes from being liked and respected by the people around you. The more people like you, the greater influence you have with them. People listen to you and are open to your suggestions and ideas. This type of power is often called "social intelligence" or "emotional intelligence." It is the most helpful and ultimately the highest paid ability in our society.
The third type of power, position power, is the power that goes with the job title. Position power includes the ability to hire and fire, to reward and punish. Position power can be separate from ability or personality. There are many unpleasant and incompetent people with position power who got it for reasons other than their ability to get the job done quickly and well or their ability to get along well with others.
Perhaps the best type of power, the fourth, is ascribed power. This is the power you have when the people around you willingly grant you authority and influence over them because of the person you are. You attract this power to yourself by being very good at what you do and, at the same time, by being liked and respected by the people around you.
Building a Power Structure
Power in business and society is based on a network of man-aged dependencies. A "dependency" is defined as someone who is willing to help you when you ask, even though you cannot order that person to do anything. Power is often dependent upon your ability to influence people over whom you have no direct control or authority.
You build a network of managed dependencies by continually looking for ways to help other people in some way-in advance. The more favors you do for others, without direct expectation of repayment, the more power and influence you acquire. The most powerful people in any organization or community seem to be those who have helped, or who can help, the greatest number of other people achieve their own goals and objectives.
How to Gain and Keep Power
The first step in acquiring power and influence is for you to
become valuable, and then indispensable, to your organization. In the final analysis, results are all that matter. Keep yourself focused by always asking, What results are expected of me?
This is the starting point. The focus on results has always been the high road to personal power and greater influence. When you develop a reputation for doing your job well, you cannot help but be paid more and promoted faster.
The second step in securing your power is for you to make yourself more valuable and helpful to more and more people. Continually look for ways to go the extra mile, to do things that are beyond what others might expect.
The third way for you to expand your power is for you to continually seek opportunities to help and to add value both to your organization and to the people in it. Take additional courses, upgrade your knowledge and skills, and look for new ways to increase sales or cut costs.
Come to work a little earlier and stay a little later. Volunteer for additional responsibilities. Always do more than you are paid for and you will always end up being paid more than you are receiving today.
For you to acquire and keep power and influence, you will require supporters both inside and outside of your organization. You should give this subject a lot of thought. Who are, or could be, your most important supporters, and what can you do to strengthen your relationships with them?
Almost everyone in an organization has power of some kind. Everyone has the power to help or hurt in some way. Everyone has the power to do or to refrain from doing something that needs to be done. Each person is in a position to advance a cause or to hinder it, to help move things ahead or to block them. What are your powers in your organization? What are the powers of the people around you?
An important principle of power is that "power always arises to fill a vacuum." You can create power for yourself by stepping into a new and undefined situation where a power vacuum exists and assuming responsibility for results. You can acquire power in the most positive sense of the word by taking charge of a new project and committing yourself wholeheartedly to the success of the venture.
The more capable and competent you prove yourself to be at getting specific and important results for your organization, the more power, influence, and authority will flow to you, and the more valuable you will become.
How you can apply this law immediately:
1. Identify the individuals in your organization who have power of one kind or another-expert power, position power, personal power, or ascribed power. What are some of the things that you could do personally to develop your power in one or more of these areas?
2. Define the most important results expected of you in your position. How could you increase the quality and quantity of your results? Identify one thing that you could do differently right now to be more effective.
Source: Brian Tracy, The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, (San Francisco, 2000).
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