Ferruccio Lamborghini, the creator of exotic supercars, understood the impact of his personal power, namely his expert power, extremely well. During WW II he mastered a way of making himself indispensable, repairing tanks and cars that no one else could fix. After the war was over, he admitted that he was the first person on the island to receive the repair manuals which he memorised, and then destroyed.
Power is defined as a capacity or potential to influence outcomes. It can be perceived as elusive, desired and feared. But also inspiring, motivating and transforming.
Power, like politics and money, is a valuable resource and can be be used for the attainment of congruent goals, inclusion as well as leading in multiple directions – downward, lateral and upward (For Leading upward read: Article https://www.standoutjane.com/the-best-in-business-a-persuasive-leaders-checklist/).
There are different sources of power but not all of them are equally effective, and not all of the time. Understanding your sources of power is important for at least two reasons:
– Formal power doesn’t necessarily mean informal power, and
– Formal power will get so far. You need informal power to excel.
Formal power is based on the position in your organisation. You might have it because you are able to exercise sanctions (coercive power), distribute rewards (reward power) or you have been given a formal authority to use and distribute company’s resources.
The most important aspect of power is that it’s a function of dependence – the more somebody or something depends on us, the more power we have (Robbins, Judge, 2015). The questions is: What do you have or control that others need? More specifically:
How important is the resource you control?
People have to desire what you have. But at which point – before you make the resource available, or after the fact? Research has shown that extensive market analysis hardly ever drives a company’s value innovation (intersection of cost structure and value proposition). Research has also shown that customers (think broader your peers, bosses, teams) can hardly imagine how to create new product or services and that they actually tend to want ‘more of the same for less money’ (Chan Kim, Mauborgne, 2015).
How Scarce?
Ferruccio Lamborghini’s competitive spirit understood the significance of scarcity. Concept of scarcity is Economics 101. The demand for his service was greater than the supply at the time. More closely, Mr. Lamborghini established a monopoly by becoming an expert in his field and offering a service that no one else could offer.
If Mr. Lamborghini was to increase prices of his services, Italian army would have no-one to else to turn to, at least not immediately. Therefore, the services he offered were non-substitutable.
How Non-substitutable?
Valuable resources that are scarce and non-substitutable represent your personal power, unique characteristics that only you posses. They are based in your expert power and referent power. Both have the strongest, positive correlation to work satisfaction, commitment and performance.
Increasing your personal power is therefore possible by:
Increasing your expert power.
Expert power is often the first kind you acquire as a professional and others defer to you for your experience and the value you hold as a knowledgeable asset. Ask yourself: What investment do you need to make in your performance?
Increasing your referent power.
Referent power develops out of admiration of another and a desire to be like them. A person has to have a desirable resource or trait. Ask yourself: How else can I leverage traits that are unique to me and relatively rare?
Investing in relationships.
Networking is more than just collecting cards/followers. The key is to network more than you are comfortable and deliver value to others before asking for favours. Consider your current position and future plans (what else do you need to know to get ‘there’). Ask yourself: What would your ideal network look like if it included mutually beneficial relationships?
Appreciating the role of symbolism.
All the world is a stage. Symbolism is about adopting practices that you don’t have to perform by the book, but are meaningful and convey your character and intentionality (Read more on: https://www.standoutjane.com/bridging-the-gap-between-values-and-actions-creating-your-own-leadership-personal-principles/). Ask yourself: How do I want to be perceived as a leader, even if you do not hold a leadership position, yet.
Formal authority has its place in organisations but will only get you so far. Investing in your personal development and relationships is the key to your success. Don’t wait for the badge of honour and take charge.
Image: Adrain Newell.