The Power Tools of Leadership

Welcome to the Quick Take podcast, the show where you get targeted advice and coaching for executives by executives. I'm Suzy Tominczuk.

And I'm James Capps. Give us 15 minutes and we'll give you three secrets to address the complex topic of issues that are challenging executives like you today.

Hey, welcome to Quick Take. How are you, James Capps?

I'm super proud to be here. How are?

you. I'm good, I'm Suzy, and James and I are here to talk about the things that are on the minds of people everywhere. That's what we always do.

That's exciting.

It's exciting. It's exciting, and so I want to talk today about something that sometimes we don't like to consider. It's the idea of power, especially as it relates to impact on other human beings.

Oh, absolutely, and I think people talk about power like it's a negative right? Yeah, power, just the way you say that I have power, I have cartoons and I think of all the jokes around power and I think it's a real thing we should talk about.

Well, yeah, and it's thought of as a weapon.

Oh, that's exactly right.

It can be a tool, it can be something that could be used for good, and we often talk about it within organizations as influence.

That's right, that's right. And people think, yeah, they conflate the two. I think, unfortunately, but I think it comes down to a lot of the conversations around influence.

Yeah, it really struck me. I thought this was a really important topic for us, because when I work with teams, I work with executives, this is a topic I bring up and I ask them who holds influence, who holds power within your organization? Meaning like, who gets things done, who do people listen to, who do people follow? And if it's not you, why not? And what do you need to do to change that and how should they look at it?

No, I think that's right, and I think people forget how to look at it objectively.

Sometimes they're offended by power or offended by the influence of others, and I do think it's important to be wise when… yeah, and I think we get so busy in what we're doing that we don't take a step to look back and we talk about strategy as it relates to the business, but this is also like in creating your impact and being thoughtful about your impact within the organization. This time well spent to really dig into this topic. So let's start to think about what are some of the ways to view power, to use power.

Well, I think what we were just talking about there is that traditional view of power which is very hierarchical, right, where we think power comes from an org chart, power comes from a title, and I think if we can get away from that 1950s perspective or 1980s perspective of what power is and understand that there's just different ways to engage with that, the different ways to influence, then it becomes much more of a tool, a set of tools in your toolbox, and not just a giant hammer that you try to use on a regular basis.

Yeah, and actually if you try to use it as a hammer, that's like a short term, like you're just trying to say, just talk to me, because I'm this title, that's exactly right. Don't you know who I am? And that's crazy.

We know those people those people that introduce themselves with their title right after their last name, and that's a different type of power, and I think progressive leaders, good leaders, long-term leaders, leaders who people want to follow and work for, are the ones that understand how to use power and influence in a different way.

So how do we build it? And maybe let's just talk about why it's important within an organization, because when people that do have influence, they get things done. People follow them, they pay attention to them, they take care of boundaries or blocks for their team. Sure, they're more effective.

Well, I think that's exactly right. And when we talk about, you know, at BlackRock and other companies I work with, you know a lot of leadership is measured by the ability to influence. It's not about the number of direct reports you have or the role you're in, or the company, or the city or the office. It's about how do you influence and get things done. Now, nobody asks how much power do you have? I have an 11. I have four bananas worth of power. That doesn't mean anything. It's like how do I influence people? And I think when we really start thinking about power as maybe it's a proxy for influence.

We can really see that, the importance of influence and the importance of doing that in ways and I think you know I like to think of, there's probably three good ways that a leader today can consider implementing that. Three is the number I'm going to go with today.

I'm just feeling I'm feeling a bit like a magician taking a rabbit out of a hat. That's exactly right.

It's. I have three hats, but I think I think it goes back to my comment about power being hierarchical. I think, at the first and foremost thing that you can influence through remember that you can influence through collaboration. And I think that when you can, as a leader, collaborate with others, whether it's your peers, your teams and mostly people that maybe are outside of your organization, that will move the needle and that's a different kind of power. And when you look at a power from a collaborative standpoint that moves and that, I think, is probably one of the more effective ways to implement that, and I think it's because you enact the rule of reciprocity.

That's absolutely right.

When you collaborate, you're showing people that you care. You're thinking about how to help them with their problems. You're thinking things through together. And that makes people want to do that for you in the future, and they wanted to give back to that kind of feeling of you did something for me and that's there's research that backs that. I'm just saying.

No, I think that's absolutely true. Those are the moments that people remember and I think that dovetails well into the second approach to maybe flexing that muscle is really just servant leadership, and it's different than collaboration, is obviously working with others and crossing various boundaries, but servant leadership is about how you work with your teams, putting yourself second for others benefit and I think that's truly the hallmark of a good leader is the ability to take a backseat where necessary and allow folks to execute, because that's true that not only grows people and helps them be better, like we talked about all the time, but that is a form of power and a form of influence.

That's such an important thing and I think that so many people will agree. But the actual when the heat is on and when things are going really fast. It's so hard to do, and that's when you really have to, when you feel the stress, kind of step back, zoom out and go okay, how am I going to do this in a way that's going to be impactful to the people around me, instead of how am I going to make sure I save myself or get myself out of this?

Yeah, but I think you told me one time a great phrase that I've used and shared, which is when you take a step back, you move forward, and that's what that is. I mean, that is you taking a step back and allowing things to move in a different direction, and that act of taking a step back is a powerful move. And I think that people need to remember that.

Yeah, all right. What's number three?

Well, number three it's an important fact that seems obvious and I want to pick out it a little bit. And that's a true standard test to be inclusive in sharing of that power and bringing other people in with different perspectives, I think is super important. And we talk about inclusion. It's a very hot topic and I think, without it being overly scrutinized, I think there's so many different ways to think about inclusion.

And the example that I've always given and I know actually he's one of our listeners is a guy that used to work for me at Comcast and he was one of my direct reports.

He was over QA, he was a test led, the test organization, and he, by definition, was a pessimist and he and I would butt heads all the time because I was always confident it was going to get done and he was always telling me why I couldn't get done.

And it took me a real long time to realize that diversity and thought was so much, so valuable and so powerful because it allowed us to actually look at all sides of the coin. And you know, software developers and technology guys tend to think it'll all work out and it'll all work and the software will be fine, and it was good to have that point of view. So, by having an inclusive perspective on leadership and enabling empowering the people around you that are thinking differently and have different points of view, that's amazing and to have and not in this particular example too, I always enjoyed the fact that people felt it was really empowering that I let the QA team have such a loud voice, but I felt like it was a different perspective, and so that actually not only empowered the QA team, but it also empowered the other teams to speak their voice, and so that inclusive inclusivity is so key across every axis.

Yeah, I think that's so good and I just want to add, like a technique that leaders can use is be really careful that your advice or your opinion doesn't come out early, and be a collector of information, because that invites that, that diverse diversity and thought, and so I love that. That. He I know who you're talking about. Yeah, he taught you that, and such a great like. Just think about. You have held on to this for years.

Oh my gosh, that was 20 years ago, easily. And yeah, I think just being able to sit back and allow people to speak up, you know, is super important.

Yeah, and it has a bigger impact on influences. Something, or power, is something that that you can't just ask for. You can't just demand, like you are going to respect me, you're going to do this. It happens over time, and what people don't realize is that servant leadership or that that lack of focus on you actually increases that influence. Oh, absolutely it's not something that's supposed to make you feel really good. It's just supposed to be something that's a tool. You can get things done.

That's right and I think, yeah, you can use it again. Go back to that hierarchical military. You know very org, org chart, structured power. You can get things done, but that's. But that's. That's a short term game, right. And if you want to be a leader that's going to have longevity, that's going to grow people, that's going to grow your, your firm, your group, your, your company, your department, your team, looking at power in this more progressive way, I think is super important.

All right. So the three things as we look at power as a tool and not a weapon. What are they, james?

Collaboration. Be a collaborative person when it comes to that. Bring lots of people together. Second, remember servant leadership. Take a step back, your team will move forward. And then, third, be inclusive. Ensure other voices are being heard, because those perspectives are going to ensure that there is a greater outcome, and sharing that power goes along with.

Awesome, awesome. One of my favorites right here right now, because I love this topic so much.

So, so thanks for joining us, and James and I are both on LinkedIn, so please reach out to us, give your questions, be a quick stir, along with us. Our tribe right, so find us there, connect with us. We're so glad you joined us today. Continue to listen and if you think somebody needs to hear this about power, feel free to share it. But so thanks for being here. We appreciate you. Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Quick Take, where we talk about the questions that are on the minds of executives everywhere. Connect with us and share what's on your mind.

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