The Power of Understanding Power

Chapter I: Understanding Power 

Most of us learn about power only through unpleasant experiences. We notice power only when it’s exercised over us, and we quickly surmise that power is dirty and powerful people are exploitative. After all, an indiscriminate use of power begets apathy if not outright evil. On the other hand, being mindful of our privileges and powers is the root of empathy and forgiveness.

Many studies have proven that power and empathy have inverse relationship - more powerful people are less empathetic people. Great leaders are often intuitively aware of this conflict and work hard to not confuse need for empathy from their teams with patronizing behavior. The latter, in its best form comes from sympathy which is often a backhanded route to empathy and not knowing this difference make many well-intentioned leaders look awful. They want to help, solve problems and be a role model but they end up being patronizing, poor listeners, intimidating, and overwhelming because they do nothing to soften the blow of power imbalance inherent in their transactions with their teams.

Anyone trying to understand ‘power’ should start with Foucault.The man was famous for his complex ideas and list below is an oversimplified introduction to his main ones - 

• Power is pervasive, everyone has it.
• Power in itself is not good or evil; it simply is.
• Power is exercised only over free subjects and only insofar as they are free.
• Power exists only when it is put in action and there is always a resistance to it.
• Power is not always repressive but has a very productive aspect that induces pleasure, forms knowledge, and produces discourse.Foucault famously said -

…Power is not wielded by people or groups by way of ‘episodic’ or ‘sovereign’ acts of domination or coercion, seeing it instead as dispersed and pervasive. ‘Power is everywhere’ and ‘comes from everywhere’ so in this sense is neither an agency nor a structure…”

Let’s understand this in the context of our workplaces. A leader in a powerful position or a manager leading a team has many constraints on their power. Those who understand this are often better leaders and tend to outlive those who don’t. For example, most of their power is subservient to their team members’ view of them, to the view of their manager or that of the board and in some cases even the view of the market. Their power is also constrained by their own innate and often unconscious comparison with their peers, both within and outside the organization. Then there are organizational policies around values and behaviors, code of conduct, active bystander and so on. The build of modern organization is to keep everyone in check and a powerful person has to negotiate with these interrelated forces at play to truly exercise their power powerfully and sustainably. It is not an easy task and that is why many employees are happy to be an individual contributor and many leaders are always stressed and tired.

Chapter II: Understanding Referent Power 

We are drawn to Power. We want to have a lot of it, and we envy those who have it. There are different forms of power and one of the most popular and accepted descriptions of power bases was given by French and Raven in 1959. They identified five bases of power as coercive, reward, legitimate, referent, and expert. ‘Information’ was added in 1965 as the sixth base of power.

Most leaders have coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and information power. Their position in organization’s hierarchy gives ‘legitimacy’, they can ‘coerce’ their teams to do something and ‘reward’ accordingly. They often are subject matter ‘experts’ and have more material ‘information’ than their teams. Only the ‘referent’ power is not a given and what a leader does to get is what makes all the difference. Referent power which is defined as -

The ability of a leader to cultivate the respect and admiration of his followers in such a way that they wish to be like him.

Leaders with referent power have high ‘likability’. People are drawn to them and may not always know why. And If you care to ask any way, usual responses may be : easy to work with, great listener, respectful, fun, supportive, integrity etc. It is of course all of it and much more!

Coupled with ‘expert’ power, ‘referent’ power is the best influence that an organization can hope to have in its leaders. Many managers get leadership roles thanks to their proven ‘expert’ power but there is not much likable about them, and they fail to inspire. Unlike other bases of power, referent power draws little from the position itself but strengthens from ‘followership’. In some ways, this power is given by the teams and is not guaranteed by the hierarchy or tenure.

There is a lot written about referent power and how one gets it. It is a complex subject, touching domains such as sociology and psychology but there is no denying that in its simplest form, people with ‘referent power’ are believed to be just ‘better people’. Some have argued that they are perceived ‘morally superior’ and are visibly at ease with their beliefs and convictions. They are predictable in their responses as they do not waver in the face of adversity. They are often perceived ‘apolitical’ but ‘organization savvy’.

The most common trait of leaders with referent power is that they not only allow but often accentuate the agency of their team members. They do this by showing respect in ways that go deeper than ‘active listening’. For example, many leaders ask for upward feedback but get only platitudes in return. It is because till that point they had done nothing to imply that despite the inherent power disbalance in the relationship, they respected their team member’s agency enough to welcome the gift of a well-meaning critique. There is a sense of psychological safety around a leader with referent power and they all have their own unique styles to create it. I once worked with a leader who always made time for me and allowed me to speak freely. He got visibly excited when he agreed with me and amplified my ideas by supporting them enthusiastically. Then there was this other leader who never forgot to ask what I disliked about his idea and insisted that I always started with that first.

It is easy to confuse referent power with charisma. Most charismatic leaders have referent power but vice versa is not necessary. Charisma’s appeal is emotional and sometimes even irrational. It travels farther and may not need a medium of contact whereas referent power is proximate, relatable and is aspirational in an achievable fashion. Charisma wows and have elements of fantasy that reduces its aspirational value. It is great to have charismatic leaders but there is limited play available for such leaders in modern workplaces esp. at middle management levels as organizations are heavily regulated by systems, practices and processes leaving little room for the mat that charisma usually needs to play on.

I would be remiss to not mention that for a leader from minority group (race, gender, ethnicity etc.) the threshold to trigger referent power is higher. Sometimes there are cultural barriers that reduce relatability, and then they must not only rely on some universal attributes of higher values such as expertise, hard work etc. but also go the extra mile to appear welcoming and non-threatening. It is not an easy balancing act, and the resultant jugglery may even be counterproductive. As a result, leaders from minority groups struggle to leave an impact in organizations with weak DEI culture.

In Summary 

Leaders with referent power induce discretionary efforts in teams and hence are huge value creators for the organization. Leaders and managers with influence need to be recognized and celebrated. They not only drive growth but also help in retaining top talent. The best looks up to them and wants to work with them. These leaders should be invested in and leveraged to build a culture which is built on organizational values.

Organizations need to include ‘power’ in their leadership development courses and coaches need to talk to their coachees about the dynamics of power. All fast-track, HIPO career programs and managerial development programs need flyers on Foucault, French & Raven. Leaders with referent power need to be found and celebrated within the organization and should be leveraged to build right culture. As they do this, organizations need to go the extra length to ensure that diverse and minority leaders are included as well in the mix .

Making good managers great is one of the biggest value unlocks for any organization and understanding power is a critical vehicle for that leap. And yet, the subject of power is almost a taboo or at best is hidden behind terms like organization savviness, executive presence etc. Let’s change that and talk about power !