Got Power?
Paul in Cannon Beach
4,703 Posts
HR roles vary from organization to organization. Some of us are administrative and take our cues from others and some are strategic players who wield power and authority with an iron fist. My guess is most of us are somewhere in between.
Power comes in all varieties. What kind of power do you have or do you see being excercised in your company?
1. Position - based on your position. This is probably the most common type. Your power comes with your title.
2. Knowledge or expertise - based on what you know. Another common area for HR pros. Our knowledge of arcane and complex employment law gives us an edge over others. Knowledge itself is not power but knowing how to use it is.
3. Reputation - based on your past history. Reputation can give you more power than you really have or take away power away from you depending on what you are known for.
4. Punishment and rewards - this power is based on what you are able to dole out. Are you in a position to offer positive and/or negative consequences for behavior? If so, thats power.
5. Gender - your gender can confer or take away power depending on the circumstances, group demographics, or company culture.
6. Apathy - simply not caring is a form of power. In negotiations, the person with the most to lose is at the mercy of the person who couldn't care less what the outcome is.
7. Charisma - power based on personality. As far as I can tell, you either have it (Bill Clinton) or you don't (Al Gore). Charisma draws people to an individual and gives that person immense control and power.
8. Anger - power based on an individual's explosive temper. Almost every organization has someone that people treat differently because no one wants to "upset" him or her. This individual's wrath has created a form of power that they can use to their advantage.
Ok, that's my list. See any you recognize or can you come up with any I have left off?
Power comes in all varieties. What kind of power do you have or do you see being excercised in your company?
1. Position - based on your position. This is probably the most common type. Your power comes with your title.
2. Knowledge or expertise - based on what you know. Another common area for HR pros. Our knowledge of arcane and complex employment law gives us an edge over others. Knowledge itself is not power but knowing how to use it is.
3. Reputation - based on your past history. Reputation can give you more power than you really have or take away power away from you depending on what you are known for.
4. Punishment and rewards - this power is based on what you are able to dole out. Are you in a position to offer positive and/or negative consequences for behavior? If so, thats power.
5. Gender - your gender can confer or take away power depending on the circumstances, group demographics, or company culture.
6. Apathy - simply not caring is a form of power. In negotiations, the person with the most to lose is at the mercy of the person who couldn't care less what the outcome is.
7. Charisma - power based on personality. As far as I can tell, you either have it (Bill Clinton) or you don't (Al Gore). Charisma draws people to an individual and gives that person immense control and power.
8. Anger - power based on an individual's explosive temper. Almost every organization has someone that people treat differently because no one wants to "upset" him or her. This individual's wrath has created a form of power that they can use to their advantage.
Ok, that's my list. See any you recognize or can you come up with any I have left off?
Comments
PORK
I think my power is derived from position, reputation, reward/punishment, and a dash of charisma.
I'm going to fess up to using -- whether intentionally or not -- all of these to at least a small degree at one time or another. In other words, I don't want to admit to using anger with conscious intent, but there's probably been a time or two when anger got the best of me and ended up having a "powerful" effect when it should have only been about me not being as emotionally controlled as I would like to be and, therefore, should not have been rewarded in any way.
I find it very interesting to think of apathy as power. I guess I think of it as a form of personal power rather than the power to control others, because sometimes the only way to protect yourself is to limit the amount that you care. For example, I've had to divest myself of concern over certain things about my organization that -- after 24 years -- I can't change. I was burning a lot of emotional energy with no return.
But all in all, I hope xpray that I mainly use knowledge and reputation more than anything else. (To say charisma sounds a little conceited but I think that my humor and personality help some too....or so I'm told by those who fear my anger, position, and punishment x:D.)
I think women are more emotionally advanced than men and probably can use more of these forms of power to their advantage.
To some degree, men have enjoyed power historically simply for being men. That has changed and continues to change. This may give women a slight advantage if they have been socially conditioned to not rely on positional power to achieve their goals.
I might also add another type of power:
Percieved - similar to reputation. Percieved power is the authority that people think you have whehter you do or not.
There may be a better category for it or it may be covered in charisma - but I think another category of power might be the ability to move & communicate in all circles. I can talk to the employee on the floor as easily as I can speak with the Director of Finance, etc.
I found that if I respected people and their views and ideas than they would in return respect me and mine.
I always try to:
#1. Keep an open mind without losing sight of my own goals
#2. Really truly listen to what the other person is saying and take some time to think about it.(even if I dont' like it and don't want to hear it)
#3. Try to find a solution to any challenge or situation that pleases the most people.(knowing that I must keep a balance between what is good for both the company and the employee)
I have worked so closely with the employees that I sometimes have a tendency to see their views over those of Management. I am doing better with that, at the same time I have also swung Management around to some of the employee views.
I am proud of going back to College and proud of all I have accomplished in 3 short years as HR.
Shirley
Although I've been away a while, I'm glad to see that you are still asking the types of big picture questions we should be thinking about. Kudos for always pushing to make us smarter and better!
Tony Kessler from M. Lee Smith forwarded this to me because one of the most popular things I'm doing right now is a seminar called "Power,, Politics & Influence - What They Don't Teach in Business School." I would suggest adding to Paul's list two things - Political power and Relationship power.
Political power is the difference between being right and being effective. We, as HR Professionals, are very often right, but not effective. We have the right answers and can get people to do what they should, but they resent us for it. Politics is the ability to plug into the unspoken, to understand what is going on behind the scenes and using it to move your agenda forward, many times without people even recognizing what the agenda is. An example of this is what I call "the meeting after the meeting." That's the one you want to be included in because that's where what's actually going to happen is decided.
Relationship power has to do with who you are affiliated with and how powerful they are. For example in one of my previous companies, the CEO's Administrative Assistant had great power. She was a terrible human being - very mean! If she hated you, she whispered in his ear what an idiot you were and pretty soon he began to believe it. She could delay your getting in to see him or speed it up depending upon how she felt about you. While he knew she was difficult, she kept his life on track, fended off people he didn't want to talk to, etc. She was the highest paid Administrative Assistant I've ever seen. That's power.
Okay, Paul and Tony sucked me back into the ever addictive Forum. Thanks for sending this to me and letting me learn and participte at the same time!
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
My recommendation is that you should be building all the kinds of power Paul described, except for maybe the screaming kind, if you want to succeed.
Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]
Sorry, Beags, even though you are my rain soaked, caffeine powered, Oregon neighbor, I can't let you get away with that kind of throw-away comment.
You'll have to back that up. How is discussing and understanding the various forms of power "warm-n-fuzzy psycho-babble"?
My thinking is that power is power and it comes in various forms. Understanding these types of power is the first step in learning how to manage them in a way that serves your organizational goals.
I have watched co-workers experience unnecessary frustration because they don't understand that having a title and having power are not synonymous.
For other managers in our organization, 3 & 8 play a pretty big role as well.
Having a good rapport (trust, communication, etc.) with the CEO is a big plus and critical to have if you have initiatives you want to get through.
Would also say that an understanding of the business and how it works is critical to not just having a seat at the table but to be heard while you're there. Find out what the specialized skill sets are of those at the table so you can speak in terms they're most comfortable with. Our group is strong in Marketing and Finance. Luckily, I have a background in Finance so understand the #'s side of things and for Marketing, I read books in this area and ask questions to become more knowledgable.
Keep learning so you make sure you're on top of the trends and decisions that affect your area and the business in general.
One more point to add - may fall under charisma. We all make mistakes but it seems some folks are given more leeway than others to recover - we call it their "goodwill bank". Points are earned by being someone that has more of a servant leadership approach rather than "it's all about me."
When you have a positive balance in your goodwill bank it gets you buy-in on changes easier and invokes less skepticism over why the change was done in the first place.
However, being liked or popular is not necessarily power. I have seen HR folks who were well liked but had little power. I have also seen other managers who were roundly disliked but wielded great power.
Being liked will get you a nice card on your birthday but having power makes things happen.