Catherine Medhurst says leaders who wield power on the basis that their position automatically makes them the smartest person in the room, will soon lose the trust and loyalty of those they lead.
The late Peter Drucker famously said: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”
If your organisational culture is one that bows down to individuals of privilege, title and rank at the expense of others, then power is potentially feasting on your culture.
Power does not equal leadership. In 1887 Lord Acton said: “Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
An abuse of power within an organisation is likely to diminish the success of any cultural change or strategic initiatives and yield the prediction of Lord Acton.
It seems that every week there is another example of a high-profile individual or institution succumbing to the dark side and breaking the trust and confidence of a company or community.
There are no winners when the social contract of trust and integrity is broken, especially by someone in a position of power.
There are always red flags along the way — complaints that were ignored, checks and balances overlooked, and disasters predicted.
Yet people felt powerless to stop the force before it crossed the line.
Turning a blind eye to the opportunity to address poor behaviour or questionable practices occurs when leaders are ignored, absent or worse, ambivalent about standards.
Most organisations employ a hierarchical structure to their advantage to effectively make decisions and deliver products and services.
Leaders need to listen to what is being said, and most importantly what isn’t being said because when people are subjected to the misuse of power, they may operate in fear and silence.
As a leader, you need to hear ideas and feedback from your team, colleagues, clients and your superiors.
Consider the team you’re working in now and answer these five questions:
Is feedback sought? Are employees able to challenge authority without fear? Do leaders actively seek ideas from their people? Do leaders embrace others as equals?
Do leaders act on the feedback?
An affirmative answer to these questions is a good starting point.
You are on the path to balancing positional and personal power and establishing psychological safety within your workplace.
When people feel confident to speak up on the day-to-day issues, they are more likely to speak up about the bigger issues.
Power is often exercised from privilege, rank or the head of the table.
Leadership can come from anywhere at any time and doesn’t need a title — your role as a leader of people is to be present to listen and act when you hear the truth.
Often a person in power is surrounded with replicas of themselves who are attracted to the status of positional power and the perceived trimmings.
People exerting power instead of leadership often tell rather than listen, based on a belief they are the smartest in the room simply because of the position they hold.
They judge rather than understand and believe they are untouchable.
On the flip-side to this, leaders embrace everyone as equals and don’t engage in time-wasting power-play games.
When a leader listens to others, a message is sent that this is a safe place to perform and speak up.
Leaders don’t need to be the loudest or the greatest.
Unlike power, leadership is not about you or your ego, it’s about the people you lead.
Leadership is a daily habit; your leadership capability develops over time — leaders continue to learn from others and through others.
Think about some challenging feedback you have received recently.
The feedback could be about you, a process or someone else you hold in high regard.
How did you react? Did you say thank you? What did you think, say and do next?
Remember, it takes courage to give feedback, and especially to speak the truth to someone who outranks you.
This courage should be appreciated, not suppressed.
If you’re not receiving feedback, ask yourself: What is it that I could do to help people speak the truth to me?
The responsibility of leadership is a choice — it is a challenging role and not for everyone.
It’s important to ensure you have people around you who will give you honest feedback and regularly challenge your thinking.
Who’s in your leadership corner and helping you to learn and grow as a leader?
Finally, remember this: There are no winners when power masquerades as leadership.
*Catherine Medhurst is a Brisbane-based human resources professional who builds relationships with customers to deliver solution. She can be contacted on Linkedin
This article first appeared on LinkedIn
