Do you feel like having power corrupts or that itâs evil? Itâs true that when people appear in the news, itâs often because of abuse of their positional power.
That said, the power of position isnât evil â especially not if gained through personal power.
Whatâs the difference between personal and positional power? And how can you use them both to inspire people and make a larger impact?
Thatâs exactly what we will cover in this article.
We already covered personal power in depth, so letâs first uncover the power of position a bit further:
- What is positional power?
- Types of positional power
- Positional power examples
- Positional vs personal power: key differences
- 5 Ways to develop positional power
- The 33% principle to build a powerful habit
Letâs dive in!
Key takeaways
What is positional power?
Positional power is acquired by securing a specific position or rank in a group or organization, often through selection by a small group of individuals. Obtaining it gives formal authority and provides coercive power (e.g., the ability to hand out poor performance reviews) and reward power (e.g., being able to provide salary increases).
While personal power often grants positional authority, it does not work the other way around.
A select few grant positional power, and you hold that power over everyone below you in the hierarchy. However, personal power needs to be earned repeatedly and on an individual basis with everyone.
Types of positional power
When you enjoy a higher rank in the hierarchy versus others, that gives you positional power over them; think about a manager compared to their team. But also think about a parent and their child. Or a teacher and their students.
Position power comes in three forms, but people with the power of position often enjoy each of them to a degree:
- Legitimacy: You obtain power because people respect that you hold a superior role over them. For example, a manager respects the position of a director or CEO.
- Reward power: You gain influence because you can issue rewards like the ability to promote people, for example.
- Coercive power: Your ability to threaten to take something away and follow up through force. For example, cutting pay for employees or sacking them.
Examples of positional power
To illustrate the point above, letâs uncover three quick examples:
- Legitimacy: Jakeâs boss asks him to do an extra task that is not a regular part of his job. While Jake doesnât want to do it, he still does because he wants to stay on good terms with his boss.
- Reward power: Caroline and her manager sat down last year to set new business goals for the next. Her manager promised a big monetary bonus and five extra days off if she would achieve her targets. As a result, Caroline crushed it and enjoyed a tropical holiday for her rewards.
- Coercive power: Last quarter, car salesman Olivier received a poor performance review because he only sold two cars, whereas the average salesman sells ten. If he fails to reach this quarterly goal of selling at least five vehicles, he will lose his job.
Positional vs Personal Power: Key Differences
While both elements give you the ability to influence others, there are also major differences between the two. There are seven key differences that we will cover:
- Actualization
- Dependencies
- Foundation
- Reach
- Duration
- Skills
- Benefit
#1: Actualization
Personal power is earned through internal qualities. Either become an expert in your field or develop exceptional interpersonal skills that allow you to build strong relationships and influence.
Positional power is gained through external factors. For example, you are promoted to a manager position or become the father of a child.
Personal power often leads to positional authority.
However, it does not work the other way around. For example, when a son gets the managing function in a family company, it doesnât tell you much about his internal qualities.
#2: Dependencies
Personal power takes a lot of time and effort to develop. Itâs your name and reputation that develop through consistent action. And if you remain virtuous, you will permanently keep this type of power.
Positional power is given by external authority and, consequently, can easily be taken away. In other words, positional power is less permanent compared to personal power.
#3: Foundation
The basis of personal power stems from your reputation by becoming the go-to expert, building strong relationships and interpersonal skills, and developing good character traits within yourself.
The foundation for positional power is top-down control. You only need to hold a superior position thatâs acknowledged by others.
#4: Reach
Personal power has no limits to how far you can reach people. Your reputation can extend beyond those you know and even continue after youâre gone. Think about the power of Jesus Christ and Buddha.
Positional power is limited to those who are superior to you. If you look at the hierarchy of a company or family, you only hold power over those directly beneath you in the pyramid.
#5: Duration
Personal power is permanent unless you screw up your name and reputation. And since it takes time to earn this power, people rarely abuse this kind once they obtain it.
Positional power is temporary. When you lose your position, you lose your influence. However, if you have good intentions and aim to be the best leader for your people, this type of power can last a long time.
#6: Skills
Personal power requires skills. Introverts often flock to expert power through expertise, while extroverts naturally flock towards referent power through relationships. Combine those skills for your unique blend.
Positional power requires little to no skill. Consider a family business, for example, where having the right blood matters more than actual skill. Another example is having an easier route to high positions within a company if you already know or build a personal relationship with key players.
Of course, most positions arenât easy to achieve and require time and effort. However, impressing the top layer within the hierarchy is often enough for a promotion. You rarely have to impress the people over whom you will gain power.
#7: Key benefit
Personal power comes through admiration. You hold influence over people because they like and trust you. As a result, they happily take â or even seek out â your advice.
Positional power provides useful tools. After all, you hold power to reward or punish people. In other words, you can influence people to act a certain way through stimulation.
Personal vs positional power: the verdict
Personal power takes time and consistent effort to achieve. It requires an upgrade of your skills and character. Your power grows as you become a better and wiser person. Thatâs why people rarely abuse personal power.
As a result, personal power often leads to a more influential position.
Be a good person, add value, and build strong personal relationships with people, especially those higher up in the tree. Doing so will lead to higher positions of power.
In other words, gain positional power through personal qualities.
But why gain positional power if its counterpart is more impactful and influential? Well, it all comes down to your intentions.
And if you intend to inspire others to become their best selves and create a meaningful impact together, positional power provides extra tools to achieve that.
5 Ways to develop positional power
The best way to gain positional power is through personal power. That will establish good traits and habits that will make you the most inspiring example.
However, gaining higher positions faster allows you to use the positional tools to empower others, spread influence quickly, and create meaningful change in the world.
Use the following techniques to gain positional power:
Method 1: Build your network
Do you know the saying that your network is your net worth?
Itâs true to a degree. The more people you know, the higher the chances that great opportunities will show up. But not all connections weigh the sameâŚ
Key players are crucial.
That includes decision makers, recruiters, managers, C-level people, entrepreneurs, and people with ambition. Building personal relationships with this group lead to many new opportunities.
How do you build such a network?
- Go to network events â and do it often (push through your fears).
- Remember that everyone starts small at first â and slowly expands.
- Create an online presence and engage with other peopleâs posts.
- Proactively provide value to key players (even if itâs for free initially).
- Start connecting people together once your network grows.
- Follow-up with people.
Building a network and personal relationships with key players takes much effort but can provide many long-term benefits.
Method 2: Provide tons of value
The more value you provide upfront, the more valuable you become to people. And soon, you will be able to harvest the fruits of your work.
So, why doesnât everyone do this?
I believe that most people have a short-term, transactional mindset. We want immediate returns and fail to understand the compounding benefits of providing tons of value upfront â without expectation and often for free.
But thatâs why it will set you apart from the masses.
So, how to provide value?
- Share key takeaways from the things you learn online.
- Share great insights or other insightful articles.
- Invest time and effort into helping someone (for free).
- Acknowledge the success of others and do so publicly.
- Be more interested in others than in yourself.
- Connect people within your network.
- Go the extra mile.
These are just a few examples you can use to provide value. But thereâs an unlimited amount of ways that you use it.
So ask yourself often, how can I provide value today?
Method 3: Take ownership
The difference between reactive and proactive behavior is that the latter separates those who rise through the ranks within groups and organizations.
Leaders are proactive in taking ownership.
Whenever you get a scary opportunity, go for it. While most people shy away from taking responsibility, those who take charge are rewarded for it.
Do you want something even better?
Create opportunities.
- Pick up extra items from the company’s to-do list.
- Research opportunities and come up with innovative ideas.
- Think about cool projects that would benefit your company.
Yes, it takes effort.
And no, not all your ideas will be welcomed by others.
But a proactive approach and your willingness to take ownership of tasks and projects will set you apart from the rest.
Seek to take ownership often.
Method 4: Develop your communication skills
Gaining positional power comes down to your ability to communicate well. Think about small talk to build relationships, empathic listening to improve understanding, and exerting social confidence.
Communication matters.
While it comes natural to some, it takes energy and effort for introverted people like myself. However, itâs not impossible â and many introverts have the remarkable ability to listen well.
Anyway, how to improve your communication?
- Go to network events and meetups.
- Talk to loads of people â especially if it feels awkward.
- Invest in yourself through courses and workshops to learn interpersonal skills.
- As you gain social confidence to walk up to people and start talking, practice the new social skills you learn.
- Ask colleagues and friends to rate you on your personal skills and provide feedback to you.
The fastest way to develop communication skills?
Communicate often.
It ainât rocket science, nor is it easy.
So start by learning to become comfortable in situations of discomfort. And then, make sure you often communicate and push through those initial awkward phases to develop self-confidence.
Method 5: Expand your influence
You want to keep expanding your influence as your network and status grow. So while you should say yes to every opportunity for a long time, there comes a moment to start saying no more often.
When you gain positional influence and power, seek out opportunities or create new ones like:
- Leading a project.
- Playing a vital role in key projects.
- Presenting findings or learnings to a crowd.
- Any other speaking engagement.
- Writing a paper or book.
The overarching tip to gaining positional power is to seek opportunities that set you apart. In other words, take ownership, be proactive, and consistently go the extra mile.
The 33% principle to build a healthy habit around power
When you are at the bottom of the hierarchy, you may look up to the people above you and envy them. And when you gain power, you may feel superior and look down at those below you.
How to prevent that from day one?
Use the 33% approach as soon as possible to split your social time:
- Spend 33% of your time with more influential people. Think about coaches, teachers, and others who inspire you to grow and become your best version.
- Spend 33% of your time with those of the same rank. Think of people you can relate to and share similar experiences with, like your friends and colleagues.
- Spend 33% of your time contributing to those earlier in their journey. Think about anyone who could benefit from your knowledge and wisdom.
Of course, itâs impossible to achieve this split at all times. But itâs a good practice to monitor how you spend your time.
- Spend too much time around leaders, and you may risk losing connection with the people you seek to help.
- Spend too much time with those at a similar stage, and you risk becoming too tunnel-visioned.
- Spend too much time with those earlier on their journey, and you risk stagnation of self-improvement.
Achieving the right balance enables consistent personal growth whilst making a meaningful contribution to the world. Also, building this habit ensures you will use positional power wisely once you obtain it.
Summary
The key difference between personal and positional power is that you earn the former through internal qualities, whereas you gain the latter through external authorities.
And while personal power often leads to its positional counterpart, the power of position alone doesnât tell a lot about internal qualities.
Personal power is superior.
But that doesn’t make the power of position a bad thing.
Instead, gaining positional power provides extra tools to inspire people and achieve better results for everyone. It allows you to expand your influence faster and make a more significant impact. So, people with good intentions should not shy away from positional power.
But focus on personal power first.
Develop expertise and interpersonal skills, nurture good character traits, and try to be a good person. If you do that, you will gain the benefits of personal power. And that will eventually lead to higher positions.
Want to learn more? Then check out these best books on power.
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