As we tackle bullet #9 from my post on How To Know If You’re a Corporate Slave), the issue of power in corporate America is one we’d all due well to pay attention to. I wrote a column a couple of weeks ago on this for BizJournals. Here is one excerpt for you to consider:
- For example, when companies have a crisis in how customers are treated at their first point of experience, you can trace the problem to the handling of power. If the experience is negative for the customer, often it’s a sign of a misuse of power. The employee has not been trained or simply does not know what impact his or her power can have. Whether it pertains to looking up an account number or researching past service calls, the employee has the power to shape opinion, and that opinion – the one taken away by the customer – has tremendous consequences.
Power is not just for the CEO or CFO, it’s for all individuals in the organization-regardless of title. There is no doubt that handling power needs to treated just like handling a delicate piece of crystal. If you don’t do it well, much damage will be done. It’s insane how most organizations ignore it. Organizations that fail to address it will find that if their people aren’t handling power well, the power is handling them.
Watch out! If you’re using power to move people (especially a customer) or processes to fit some blind aim, you’re cementing a date for extinction. It won’t feel that way now because the numbers may be telling you that everything is fine. But misusing power never has a happy ending.
As you seek to use power the right way, consider Tom Peters’ post on "Top Fifty" "Have Yous." His insights remind me of some of the right uses of power. The list is lengthy, but worth reading.