Five Unexpected Workplace Powers

Photo by Guille Álvarez on Unsplash

A common fallacy I see in people looking to grow their career is believing that leadership equals management, that you’re only a leader when you have direct reports. These emerging leaders fail to realize that they can lead from any position.

One tool to help shift this limiting belief is the five unexpected workplace powers¹ of which a title — positional power—is only one. Understanding each power helps us unlock and experiment with different aspects of our leadership.

Power One: Positional

Positional power is the leadership many of us think of first. A person’s title, be it Manager, Vice President, or CEO, gives us some external legitimacy. We think, If other people have given me this title, then it gives me some authority over others, or at least that’s what I thought when I got my first manager title.

Relying on positional power made me feel like I had to be in control, know all the answers, and be the superwoman who would solve all the problems for my team. In reality, I was just a bad manager. New managers often use their title and positional power as a crutch, and many of us have experienced those managers.

Instead, consider a servant leadership style of positional power, where by having that title, you are in full service to the people on your team.

Power Two: Knowledge

Knowledge power is based on having expertise in the hands-on skills of what you do, whether it’s in sales & marketing, engineering, design, operations, or something else entirely. You are closest to the work you do each day and have the full power over the work. This is one reason that engineers are so highly valued in Silicon Valley—without their code, there would be no digital products and services.

Power Three: Task

Task-based power is the opportunities you have to accomplish tasks & projects. Consider a task such as leading / planning / facilitating a design sprint or weekly team meeting. This task might take advantage of new skills that you’d like to practice, or it might be a dreaded task such as taking meeting minutes. In both cases, you have power over the meeting flow and agenda, as well as how the meeting is recorded afterwards. In a design sprint, you’re responsible for the process and working with a team of other people to orchestrate the flow of the sprint.

When looking to gain more task-based power, consider what tasks you enjoy doing and what additional skills you’d like to learn. Volunteering for tasks is also a fantastic way to demonstrate interest and ambition to your managers.

Power Four: Relationship

On a surface level, relationship power can be your network. Yet many people feel icky when they have to “network” or navigate “office politics.” Instead, think of it as building relationships with people you like. It’s helpful to break down relationships into three categories: those positionally above you, your peers in other teams, and people on your team.

Power is built on the trust and strength of these relationships. The majority of themes covered in my leadership coaching conversations is around building stronger relationships. If you’re not sure where to start, first ask yourself if your boss trusts you, and if you trust them. That’s the first and strongest relationship you should cultivate at work.

Power Five: Personal

Personal power is a mindset shift to realize that leadership starts with you. You have personal power when you best understand who you are as a leader, by knowing your strengths, areas of growth, and what you are most passionate about. Personal power is a development of your personal brand, or what you’re known for. YOU will be the expert on work areas that you enjoy the most. Others will come to you for guidance.

To better understand your personal power, start with defining your values.

Bottom-Line

Leadership doesn’t just come from positional power, or having that manager title. Instead, develop your leadership by considering all five workplace powers—positional, knowledge, task, relationship, and personal. The best thing is that all of them except positional power are 100% within your control. Which power would you like to develop more of today?

If you’d like to develop all these powers, I’m offering a group coaching program — Leading From Any Position.

¹This article comes from discussions with Jim Herman on this five power model. He draws inspiration from Ken Blanchard’s writing.