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Five Unexpected Workplace Powers
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.
