What is the principle of the power ?
Answers
Answer:
Power is potential. Power is a noun, a tool. Unused – like many of the tools sitting in my garage on any given day – it doesn’t do anything on its own. Rather, it must be applied in a given context. When power is exerted it becomes influence, which is a verb, and (like any skill) can be done really well, poorly, or anywhere in between. I may have the best hammer in the world, but if I never pick it up it remains irrelevant. Similarly, I may be willing to use it, but smash a lot of fingers along the way.
Power is a value-loaded term. The word ‘power’ has a negative connotation in Western culture. We say things like “absolute power corrupts absolutely”, and have a fair amount of historical (or current) examples on the tips of our tongues to back that idea up. Our movies and books are filled with villains who have too much power and use it too often and heroes who are flawed just enough to restrict and control the amount of power they exert. The problem with this is that we then vilify the use of power if it affects us, and ignore our own abuses of power – we are always the heroes in our own story. We need a more comprehensive understanding of the word itself.
Most people don’t understand power. On a related note to the last two, most people associate power with the heavy-handed examples they can easily see, but ignore more subtle applications. Of course military might is power, but so is persuasive skill. Dictators have power over nations, but so do parents. As long as we define power and influence only by what we don’t like, we tend to ignore other things, including the power we personally have access to. This misunderstanding leads to all sorts of strange behavior, including the blind pursuit of strength and force in an effort to become more ‘powerful’.
There are multiple sources of power. While the list of sources is varied, much of the research begins with French and Raven’s Five Sources of Power. In their model, legitimate power is that which comes from a title or position. Expert power comes from being a subject matter expert, or having key skills needed for a given project. Reward power is the ability to grant benefits (like a promotion, or a bonus), while coercive power comes from being able to dole out punishment. Finally, referent power is relationship power, or the influence gained by having people want to be like you and mimic your character and behaviors.
Some sources are more powerful. As you might assume, not all sources of power are created equally. Legitimate power by itself is ineffective, and the exercise of coercive power actually serves to escalate what is necessary for influence – meaning that the more you use it, the weaker overall you become. The most powerful source is referent power, as the potential for influence is largely based on relationships of trust. True leadership hinges on a person’s character, as reflected in theories like Transformational and Level 5 Leadership.