Use personal power to improve relationships and culture
Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash
Call to mind someone you admire who gets along well with people and seems to effortlessly lead groups toward collaborative problem-solving. Those people, whether they have been given official authority or not, operate from a place of personal power.
Personal power includes emotional intelligence or so-called “soft skills” to develop trust and rapport. People with healthy personal power operate with confidence in their skills, but also know how and when to bring others into the fold to get a job done.
Understanding sources of power
Importantly, personal power does not require that you have a C-level or management title in order to lead others.
Psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram Raven defined five types of power in 1959. While those in executive roles have what they called legitimate power, you can develop and access your personal power regardless of your title or role in an organization.
Specifically, you can draw upon your:
Expert power. When you have strong expertise and a demonstrated track record, you gain influence and trust by virtue of your skills and work. People look to you as a reliable source of guidance in your area of practice. This type of power is available to anyone with a strong educational and professional background, and you can continue to develop your expert power by staying committed to lifelong learning and skill-building activities.
Referent power. The World of Work Project defines referent power as:
“Referent power is based on being liked and respected as an individual. It’s derived from an individual's perceived value, worth or attractiveness.”
A Forbes contributor expanded upon that basic definition and examined what goes into developing referent power. He identified a four-part framework for referent power that includes:
A proven record of meeting deadlines, exceeding customer expectations and contributing to the team as a whole.
A reputation for fairness, diplomacy, collaboration and accountability
Setting a good example in regard to organizational standards and work ethic
Strong interpersonal skills, also known as emotional intelligence
This framework creates an atmosphere of trust, collaboration and rapport among the people within your organizational circle, and it leads to increased personal influence and power.
Becoming a leader through personal power
When you understand how to develop your personal power, you can then apply it in your work life to help support better work outcomes, problem-solving and culture shifts.
Those with strong personal power tend to operate with a growth mindset and their vision extends past the limits of their job description. They see the bigger picture and have a clear idea of how they can use their influence as a force for good – both within their current organizations and in their longer-term career.
To use your personal power and become a better leader at work:
Share your knowledge. Especially if you have expert power, make sure that you are contributing your knowledge and skills to the benefit of the entire team.
Contribute ideas. Owning your personal power means having the confidence to speak up and to challenge the status quo.
Open the floor to others. Draw others into conversation and problem-solving. Support colleagues on contributing to conversations around growth and change within the organization
Regulate tension. Use your emotional intelligence skill of self-regulation to manage your reactions and responses, and model that regulated behavior to others.
Practice empathy. Notice when team members are not self-regulating and offer support to get them back into a positive mindset.
Look for opportunities. Again, don’t let your job title or job description limit your actions and contributions . Find ways to contribute on a more meaningful level.
Flexing your referent or expert power can often raise your visibility and status to those higher up and position you as an ideal candidate for promotion. If and when that happens, remember to maintain your foothold in authentic sources of personal power. In other words, don’t rely on your new leadership title, but continue the good work and the influence you earned as a connected, emotionally intelligent team player.
Ready to grow in your career and as a leader? Reach out to me for a complimentary strategy call as a first step toward claiming your personal power at work.