Understanding and Using Power

Casey Nottingham

Caldwell College

Sources

• Bailey & Burch (2010)

• Harvard Business School Press (2005)

• YouTube

Presentation Outline

• Power

• Power in behavior analysis

• Sources of power

• Symptoms and sources of powerlessness

• Dependencies

• Your Personal Power Profile

• Questions

Power

• Negative connotations

• Business potential to allocate resources and make decisions

• Power = something you have

• Influence = something you do

“We have learned that power is a positive force if it is used for positive purposes.” -Elizabeth Dole

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Power

• Negative connotations– Sneaky, abusive, etc. “We have learned

that power is a positive force if it is used for positive purposes.” -Elizabeth Dole

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Power

• Negative connotations

• Business potential to allocate resources and make decisions– Hire, fire, pay raise, accept

proposals, etc.

“We have learned that power is a positive force if it is used for positive purposes.” -Elizabeth Dole

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Power

• Negative connotations

• Business potential to allocate resources and make decisions

• Power = something you have– Sources of power?

“We have learned that power is a positive force if it is used for positive purposes.” -Elizabeth Dole

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Power

• Negative connotations

• Business potential to allocate resources and make decisions

• Power = something you have

• Influence = something you do– Examples?

“We have learned that power is a positive force if it is used for positive purposes.” -Elizabeth Dole

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Behavior Analysis

How are power and influence related?

Power

• Viewed with suspicion– Power seekers = viewed with distrust

“People who have it deny it; people who want it do not want to appear to hunger for it; and people who engage in its machinations do so secretly.”

- Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Power• Why is it necessary?

– Make & implement decisions– Hire & fire– Determine compensation/compensate

employees– Obtain funding, materials, staff, etc.– Resolve disputes– Access important information– Determine goals

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Power

• Powerful employers:– Visibility– Upward mobility– Resources– Compensation increases– An “aura of status”

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Power in Behavior Analysis

• Important to understand the role and use of power

• Built-in incentives for acquiring power– Upward mobility– Greater influence– Make decisions– Compensation– Resource distribution

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Power Use

• How could you use power appropriately in your practice?– Decision-making processes, promote behavioral

interventions, increase pay for exceptional workers, etc.

• How could you use power inappropriately in your practice?– Promote own agenda, force employees to do extra work,

threaten employees with aversive consequences, etc.

Sources of Power

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Job Title/Positional Power

• Supervisors, directors, managers, etc.– Set work schedules– Assign clients– Set boundaries, protocols, etc.– Make decisions– Select and compensate employees

• Title alone ≠ power– Creates opportunities to use power

Bailey & Burch (2010); Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Job Title – Using Your Power

• Power can be used poorly or properly

• Poor use of power– Petty/arbitrary decision making– Abuse supervisees– Advance self

• Examples of poor use of power?

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Job Title – Using Your Power

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EH9KOtNL5E

• Knowledge of behavioral principles = power

• Should use to benefit others

• Should not be used to abuse others/promote own agenda

Using Power Poorly

• Stanley used behavioral principles (SR+) for his own agenda

• SR+ attention/laughter

• Stanley’s relationship with Dwight power to reach goal

A – B – C

Job Title – Using Your Power

• Proper use of power– Shape behavior– Bring out best in others– Influence/persuade without force– Dispense powerful reinforcers

• Examples of proper use of power?

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Relational Power

• Affiliation with other individuals in organization– More effective in your position with more

people “backing” you

• Begins with networking– Make connections– Request help when needed– Help others when needed

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Personal Power• Personal characteristics

Trustworthiness Expertise

Charisma Accomplishments

Enthusiasm Self-confidence

• Deficits?–Knowing early on = time to work on building/strengthening these characteristics

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Personal Power• What is your personal power profile?

– Rate yourself– Have objective colleagues rate you– Determine strengths and weaknesses– Eliminate weaknesses = increase personal

power– Let’s try!

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Soft Power

• Subtlety in attempts to influence others– Avoid blatant use of force/power– Increase likelihood of others responding to

requests– Establishes you as reinforcer

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Symptoms and Sources of Powerlessness for Key Positions Position  Symptoms SourcesFirst-line supervisors

Close, rule-minded supervision Tendency to do things oneself,

blocking of subordinates’ development and information

Resistant, underproducing subordinates

Routine, rule-minded jobs with little control over events

Limited information Few advancement

prospects for oneself/subordinates

Staff professionals

Turf protection, information control

Resistance to change

Blocked careers Easy replacement by

outside experts

Top executives

Focus on internal cost-cutting, producing short-term results, punishing failure

Dictatorial, top-down communication

Uncontrollable lines of supply

Limited or blocked lines of information from below

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Symptoms and Sources of Powerlessness for Key Positions Position  Symptoms SourcesFirst-line supervisors

Close, rule-minded supervision Tendency to do things oneself,

blocking of subordinates’ development and information

Resistant, underproducing subordinates

Routine, rule-minded jobs with little control over events

Limited information Few advancement

prospects for oneself/subordinates

Staff professionals

Turf protection, information control

Resistance to change

Blocked careers Easy replacement by

outside experts

Top executives

Focus on internal cost-cutting, producing short-term results, punishing failure

Dictatorial, top-down communication

Uncontrollable lines of supply

Limited or blocked lines of information from below

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Symptoms and Sources of Powerlessness for Key Positions Position  Symptoms SourcesFirst-line supervisors

Close, rule-minded supervision Tendency to do things oneself,

blocking of subordinates’ development and information

Resistant, underproducing subordinates

Routine, rule-minded jobs with little control over events

Limited information Few advancement

prospects for oneself/subordinates

Staff professionals

Turf protection, information control

Resistance to change

Blocked careers Easy replacement by

outside experts

Top executives

Focus on internal cost-cutting, producing short-term results, punishing failure

Dictatorial, top-down communication

Uncontrollable lines of supply

Limited or blocked lines of information from below

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Symptoms and Sources of Powerlessness for Key Positions Position  Symptoms SourcesFirst-line supervisors

Close, rule-minded supervision Tendency to do things oneself,

blocking of subordinates’ development and information

Resistant, underproducing subordinates

Routine, rule-minded jobs with little control over events

Limited information Few advancement

prospects for oneself/subordinates

Staff professionals

Turf protection, information control

Resistance to change

Blocked careers Easy replacement by

outside experts

Top executives

Focus on internal cost-cutting, producing short-term results, punishing failure

Dictatorial, top-down communication

Uncontrollable lines of supply

Limited or blocked lines of information from below

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Symptoms and Sources of Powerlessness for Key Positions Position  Symptoms SourcesFirst-line supervisors

Close, rule-minded supervision Tendency to do things oneself,

blocking of subordinates’ development and information

Resistant, underproducing subordinates

Routine, rule-minded jobs with little control over events

Limited information Few advancement

prospects for oneself/subordinates

Staff professionals

Turf protection, information control

Resistance to change

Blocked careers Easy replacement by

outside experts

Top executives

Focus on internal cost-cutting, producing short-term results, punishing failure

Dictatorial, top-down communication

Uncontrollable lines of supply

Limited or blocked lines of information from below

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Symptoms and Sources of Powerlessness for Key Positions Position  Symptoms SourcesFirst-line supervisors

Close, rule-minded supervision Tendency to do things oneself,

blocking of subordinates’ development and information

Resistant, underproducing subordinates

Routine, rule-minded jobs with little control over events

Limited information Few advancement

prospects for oneself/subordinates

Staff professionals

Turf protection, information control

Resistance to change

Blocked careers Easy replacement by

outside experts

Top executives

Focus on internal cost-cutting, producing short-term results, punishing failure

Dictatorial, top-down communication

Uncontrollable lines of supply

Limited or blocked lines of information from below

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Symptoms and Sources of Powerlessness for Key Positions Position  Symptoms SourcesFirst-line supervisors

Close, rule-minded supervision Tendency to do things oneself,

blocking of subordinates’ development and information

Resistant, underproducing subordinates

Routine, rule-minded jobs with little control over events

Limited information Few advancement

prospects for oneself/subordinates

Staff professionals

Turf protection, information control

Resistance to change

Blocked careers Easy replacement by

outside experts

Top executives

Focus on internal cost-cutting, producing short-term results, punishing failure

Dictatorial, top-down communication

Uncontrollable lines of supply

Limited or blocked lines of information from below

Power and Dependency

• Dependency is inevitable and can be beneficial– Workplace dependencies?

• Restrains concentration of power– Important in organizations– Prevents corruption of leaders– Balance of power among individuals

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Power and Dependency• What are your dependencies?

I depend on… For…- Learner’s mom - Purchasing items

that are preferred by the learner prior to session

…depends on me For…- Learner’s mom - Providing training

on programs

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Power and Dependency• Dependency can be beneficial

• Dependency can be detrimental

Roland, the manager, depends too much on Joan for sales report data. Joan keeps the data locked up and

Roland cannot get the data when he needs it. Roland’s dependence on Joan is not conducive to Roland’s

effectiveness as a manager.

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Power and Dependency• What are your dependencies?

I depend on… For…- Supervisor - Making all

necessary changes to

program book …depends on me For…

- Supervisor - Filling in my hours worked

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Ethical Use of Power

• Power can corrupt

• Power must be used ethically– Used to benefit the entity from which power is

derived and that it is responsible to serve– Conforms to cultural or legal standards

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Harvard Business School Press (2005)

Suggestions for Developing and Using Power

• Network• Avoid force and abrasive use of power• Establish yourself as a powerful reinforcer• Become part of power structures outside of personal

organization• Study power and sources of power and

acknowledge areas of weakness• Remember: the process of acquiring power is

behavioral!

Bailey & Burch (2010)

Additional Reading

Bailey & Burch (2010)

References

Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills & strategies

for the professional behavior analyst. New York:

Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Harvard Business School Press. (2005). Power, influence, and

persuasion: Sell your ideas and make things

happen. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Understanding and Using Power

Casey Nottingham

Caldwell College