When going through our weekly lessons, I like see how it applies to me in my current situations and or how I can be a better leader/manger in my life. Sometimes we are so focused on the bigger picture and can’t see how this directly affects us. This week made me think about what power or influence I have in my day-to-day life and if both are synonymous as with having influence or being influential. By definition, power is the possession of control or command over others; authority; ascendancy.  But can you have power without influence; whether it is at work as a manager; in the community as part of the local sports booster club; or even simply at home as a parental figure.

As a manager at a financial services company, I have managerial power. It is a certain level of it but it is there. With that power, I can authorize process and initiate requests that someone not on level can do. This is where the possession of control comes in. My direct reports take immediate commands from me and others within the organization respect my decisions that I am executing. But just because I have this “power” that doesn’t come with being influential. I think they are very different.

Power when discussed in my situation is a given in the sense that it comes with the position.  Having influence, which is to be a compelling or a motivating force on other individuals’ actions or opinions, is being able to use one individual’s level of power and combining it with their personality.  I would like to think that I have some influence after being with my company for over 10 years and management for half of it. Through the years, with my proven performance and work ethics, I have shown that I can be trusted and relied on. I believe that is the biggest differentiating factors with power and influence.

 As we learned in the lesson’s reading material, Need for Power: the motivation to influence or control others (McClelland, 1975; McClelland & Burnham, 2008). Individuals with a high need for power get satisfaction from influencing others. They look for positions where they can influence others. They are good at building trusting relationships and they can be outspoken and forceful. They like to see signs of their authority and status and like others to defer to them. The need for power has shown to be positively related to success for nontechnical managers (McClelland & Boyatzis, 1982)

Unfortunately many have used the latter and abused it to obtain more power.  I know I have done the opposite. As I grew within the company, I wanted to ensure that I can utilize my power in being able to share what I believe to be best practices, cost savings, or any ideas and know that whoever is listening is taking me seriously because I have that influence based on my work history. Effective leadership is not only about being powerful as that can be misconstrued but at the same time it cannot only be based on influence. Both are very dangerous, as not all people are good people.

Reference:

Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2011). Retrieved February 21, 2013, from PSYCH 485 Lesson 07: Power & Influence: https://elearning.la.psu.edu/psych485/lesson-7