Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lord Acton

There are two elements of power in an organisational context – “position power” and “personal power”. The leader has “position power” given from the organisation. This comes from the authority which the job role has to do things or make things happen. The “personal power” is about the degree of influence the individual has and is given by the followers. The two are interlinked to an extent. People will look to the leader’s “position power” and give them a degree of “personal power” based on how they perceive the leader might influence them. Equally, when organisations are looking to promote someone, the more aware ones will look to see how well individuals can seem to influence others around them – and give them some “position power”.

Problems arise when people are put into roles where they have considerable “position power” but feel out of their depth and under-confident. What starts to happen is that they feel a need to cover their discomfort and they begin to do this by abusing the power they hold. Over my years of working with organisations, I have heard and seen so many examples of poor or inappropriate behaviour from various levels of management and leadership. This is despite the amount of training which many of these people have participated in! I wonder how many times you have been on the receiving end of such behaviour? More to the point, how many of you have been guilty of using them? Sometimes, these abuses of power are obvious:

• shouting, screaming even, at staff;
• threats being used;
• unreasonable demands;
• intimidating body language;
• being a time-stealer to staff;
• setting unreasonable levels of e
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  ation is one which appears to be on the increase and is creating further problems in the workplace such as stress. This article will look at what is “power” and how it can be used productively. We want to consider how leaders can become more confident in their positions and with their power and explore the benefits for all parties when they do.

  Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lord Acton

  There are two elements of power in an organisational context – “position power” and “personal power”. The leader has “position power” given from the organisation. This comes from the authority which the job role has to do things or make things happen. The “personal power” is about the degree of influence the individual has and is given by the followers. The two are interlinked to an extent. People will look to the leader’s “position power” and give them a degree of “personal power” based on how they perceive the leader might influence them. Equally, when organisations are looking to promote someone, the more aware ones will look to see how well individuals can seem to influence others around them – and give them some “position power”.

  Problems arise when people are put into roles where they have considerable “position power” but feel out of their depth and under-confident. What starts to happen is that they feel a need to cover their discomfort and they begin to do this by abusing the power they hold. Over my years of working with organisations, I have heard and seen so many examples of poor or inappropriate behaviour from various levels of management and leadership. This is despite the amount of training which many of these people have participated in! I wonder how many times you have been on the receiving end of such behaviour? More to the point, how many of you have been guilty of using them? Sometimes, these abuses of power are obvious:

  • shouting, screaming even, at staff;
  • threats being used;
  • unreasonable demands;
  • intimidating body language;
  • being a time-stealer to staff;
  • setting unreasonable levels of
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    ower”. The leader has “position power” given from the organisation. This comes from the authority which the job role has to do things or make things happen. The “personal power” is about the degree of influence the individual has and is given by the followers. The two are interlinked to an extent. People will look to the leader’s “position power” and give them a degree of “personal power” based on how they perceive the leader might influence them. Equally, when organisations are looking to promote someone, the more aware ones will look to see how well individuals can seem to influence others around them – and give them some “position power”.

    Problems arise when people are put into roles where they have considerable “position power” but feel out of their depth and under-confident. What starts to happen is that they feel a need to cover their discomfort and they begin to do this by abusing the power they hold. Over my years of working with organisations, I have heard and seen so many examples of poor or inappropriate behaviour from various levels of management and leadership. This is despite the amount of training which many of these people have participated in! I wonder how many times you have been on the receiving end of such behaviour? More to the point, how many of you have been guilty of using them? Sometimes, these abuses of power are obvious:

    • shouting, screaming even, at staff;
    • threats being used;
    • unreasonable demands;
    • intimidating body language;
    • being a time-stealer to staff;
    • setting unreasonable levels of
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      ll look to see how well individuals can seem to influence others around them – and give them some “position power”.

      Problems arise when people are put into roles where they have considerable “position power” but feel out of their depth and under-confident. What starts to happen is that they feel a need to cover their discomfort and they begin to do this by abusing the power they hold. Over my years of working with organisations, I have heard and seen so many examples of poor or inappropriate behaviour from various levels of management and leadership. This is despite the amount of training which many of these people have participated in! I wonder how many times you have been on the receiving end of such behaviour? More to the point, how many of you have been guilty of using them? Sometimes, these abuses of power are obvious:

      • shouting, screaming even, at staff;
      • threats being used;
      • unreasonable demands;
      • intimidating body language;
      • being a time-stealer to staff;
      • setting unreasonable levels of
        The Career Benefits of Getting Clear!
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        anagement and leadership. This is despite the amount of training which many of these people have participated in! I wonder how many times you have been on the receiving end of such behaviour? More to the point, how many of you have been guilty of using them? Sometimes, these abuses of power are obvious:
        • shouting, screaming even, at staff;
        • threats being used;
        • unreasonable demands;
        • intimidating body language;
        • being a time-stealer to staff;
        • setting unreasonable levels of expectation, etc.

        The list can go on beyond this – and could expand to include some less obvious behaviours. Why is it that so many previously reasonable people can start to behave so unreasonably? Experience suggests that one factor is that they are often merely carrying on a trend from their bosses! If there are not good role models, it can be difficult to behave correctly. However, this is something of an excuse. What is really going to be achieved with abuse of power? The daily reports of problems with bullying in the workplace, increasing stress-related problems in the workplace are clear indicators of that this is an on-going issue.

        The consequences for the organisation, and the leaders, can be significant. There are probably issues with productivity and effectiveness, absenteeism (or just presenteeism!), and possibly staff retention is also a problem? If these things are happening, there as a potential for a vicious spiral – the manager feels under more pressure and passes this on with even more inappropriate use of their “position power”.

        The flip-side is to consider what can happen when the leader is able to use their power in a constructive manner. Why are they able to do this? Partly it is because they are comfortable with their “personal power” and adjust to the additional “position power”. Maybe they have the right role models, or suitable training. They do recognise that they can get more from their people by supporting and encouraging rather than coercing!

        Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... perhaps the fear of a loss of power. John Steinbeck

        For me, this quotation says a great deal about the two types of leader – the abusers of power are frequently out of their depth in their role. They fear losing their position and the likely loss of face, status and money. They do not feel that they can ask for help or support to improve the way they operate. Possibly, they believe it will be seen as a sign of weakness and so they aim to compensate with what they think is a show of strength.

        Leaders have a right to ask things of their follo