Harnessing the Potential of Power
13/10/2021
(This article originally appeared in Ambition, the thought leadership publication by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) – in print and online – and has been republished on this website with the permission of AMBA.)
Think about a time when someone famous or extremely important walked into the room. Remember how the energy was changed just by their presence? Suddenly, the air and the audience were super-charged and tingling with excitement. That person didn’t need to make a grand entrance, to be loud, or signify that they had the upper hand. Many times, these individuals are quiet and reserved. Yet, everyone felt the shift. That’s personal power.
But personal power isn’t just reserved for celebrities. I’m sure we’ve all been somewhere and felt the energy shift when a particular individual entered the room. These people are not always well-known but we feel their powerful energy as soon as they walk in.
You are in control
This unseen and mysterious force that exists between each of us is power, or, more accurately, power-full. We can’t see it, any more than we can see the wind, but it naturally ebbs and flows as we interact with one another.
Power is the key to having ‘the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others, or the course of events’. Our ability to harness this ever-present and limitless influence leads and governs everything we do.
You might be surprised to know that we pick our place on the power continuum at any given point simply by transmitting unconscious cues and signals. In other words, we have a choice: whether to let our power go untapped, give it away, or harness it. Every person is in control of their own power.
Power up or power down
The question is: how do we tap into this unseen energy? First, we must eliminate the misconception that having power means we always need to power up by being domineering, aggressive, or intimidating.
Choosing to play down our power down can be just as effective, if not more so. Think back to the person entering a room and that energy shift: they are ‘power-full’ without demanding power. They are not dominating others by being controlling or instilling fear. They are not egotistical and full of themselves. Instead, they radiate influence, connection, and leadership.
This example demonstrates that there must be a balance between the two sides of power that harnesses its energy. I refer to this as ‘power up or power down’, which denotes how we control and present ourselves, according to the situation.
Powering up is making a thoughtful decision to step into a fuller presence – like a peacock fully fanning its tail feathers. Powering down is an intentional choice to retract – a peacock with a folded train.
The choice is ours
If we understand how to harness our power effectively, we intentionally employ cues and signals that indicate our chosen power position and influence those around us.
Like the peacock’s feathers, these signals, or power tools, communicate whether we are powering up by displaying our full fan of feathers or powering down by keeping our feathers folded. And, even if we don’t understand how to step fully into our power, these same cues indicate where we believe we belong on the power continuum; it’s just that they are communicated unconsciously rather than representing a deliberate choice to make the most of the situation at hand.
In business, every interaction matters. It can mean the difference between the success or failure of a deal; the cooperation of our team (or lack thereof). It’s up to us: we can relinquish this mysterious energy or claim the personal power at hand – the choice is ours.
Power tools
Once we understand the ‘power tools’ that are available, accessible, and limitless in any given situation, we can use them appropriately. As the Austrian neurologist Viktor Frankl stated: ‘Between stimulus and response, there is a space.’ Our ‘real’ power is knowing how to tap into that space and respond intentionally.
‘Power tools’ encompass our conversational style, posture, tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. However, they also include our mindset, boundaries, fear, intuition, and connection with others.
For example, imagine you’re engaged in an emotionally charged conversation either at work or home. Powering up could escalate the situation, resulting in anger, harsh words, ultimately causing a rift in the relationship. Instead, choosing a power tool that reduces the emotional intensity can help level the playing field to accomplish the task at hand.
In this situation, some ‘power-down’ tools that could be effective include speaking in a softer voice, expressing sympathy, using inclusive language (we, us, ours) using less formal speech, keeping our chin lowered, or taking up less space. The list is endless, but we rarely tap into these tools consciously.
When people feel pushed, they have a natural tendency to push back. When we stop our reactive pushing and pulling and seek out the best way to harness our power and allow others to do the same, that’s when the energy flows and win/win outcomes are achieved.
Other situations may call for powering up to have our voice, opinion, and expertise acknowledged. Some of these power tools include using more formal speech, pausing for effect, making eye contact, injecting humour into a discussion, making declarative statements, standing with firmly planted feet and our shoulders back, showing little to no emotion, using large sweeping gestures, wearing quiet shoes, and taking up more space.
Beware of your default
As humans, we gravitate to the power tools that feel most natural. Some people feel most at home flashing a full-feathered train, while others prefer to keep their tail feathers tucked. But, when we default to these attributes continuously, without awareness, we are not making the most of the interaction, and often inadvertently give our power and influence away.
Leaning heavily to one side or the other on the power spectrum can derail our efforts, completely relinquishing our influence with those around us. Individuals who make intentional choices about which power tools to employ understand how to step into the powerful space between stimulus and response.
Positioning yourself on the power spectrum
Three simple steps can allow us to choose our power positioning in any given situation:
- Determine where you naturally gravitate to on the power spectrum. Consider the list of low and high-power tools and see if any sound familiar. Or ask a few trusted people; those closest to us can often provide helpful insights we may overlook.
- Assess your behaviour. Keep a list of the power tools and note which ones you default to and use in various situations.
- Experiment with adopting new power cards into your influence vocabulary. Attempting to master them all isn’t necessary. Instead, pick one verbal and one nonverbal marker and try them out. As those start to feel more natural, pick a few others.
At its very core, success relies on the effective and ethical use of power dynamics. Every one of us can step into our power to reclaim control and make every situation a win/win.
There is no better time than now to understand and use our ability to harness the mysterious energy that ebbs and flows in every interaction, to create a culture of mutual empowerment. And, let’s face it, that is how great things get accomplished.
This is an adapted version of an article that was published on AMBA’s website, written by Gail Rudolph; author of ‘Power Up Power Down, How to Reclaim Control and Make Every Situation a Win/Win’.
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