The Changing Illusion Of Power

                                                                                         

Whenever people discuss leadership, attention invariably gravitates to that illusive issue of power. The very essence of leadership is to get others to do something, so leaders must focus on the skillful use of power, influence, or whatever one chooses to call this force that propels action. Warren Bennis put it this way: "Leadership is the wise use of power."

In this broader sense, everyone acts as a leader. Under some circumstances, we all try to influence our co-workers, bosses, spouses, children, and other relationships. Thus, power is an everpresent reality, since people always attempt to exert influence, and the result of all this mutual influence is what social scientists call "the social construction of reality." Power is not some fixed, official authority held by one person, but a changing, some­what arbitrary way of organizing society-an illusion.

This fluid nature of power is seen in the wide variation it takes. For instance, the company president showed that power can easily be shared with followers if they feel committed to the leader or the organization. In fact, this benign type of power is usually far more influential because people feel united by a common sense of personal empowerment. Witness the mutual empowerment shared by great leaders and their followers: Gandhi and his Indian countrymen, Martin Luther King, Jr., and his black brothers and sisters, Pope John Paul II and the Catholic Church.

Such examples are fairly common because people want to feel a sense of their own power. Psychologists identify this as a healthy drive to be effectual, to have an impact on the world, and to see one's actions as meaningful. This need can be perverted into" dominance," of course, which is why an open, aggressive drive for power is often taboo in society. But we should acknowledge that all people have a healthy need to feel powerful and to influence others.

About the author:
Simon Slade is the founder of SaleHoo, an international e-commerce company based in New Zealand. Simon enjoys researching new business trends.

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