The Build Your Influence, Communicate with Power workshop was a huge success in terms of the rich learning opportunity we were provided with Mary Shapiro as guest presenter from the Simmons School of Management in Boston. Mary taught us to step back and evaluate our work relationships within the context of who we need to influence in our workplace and she defined power as the potential to influence others. We often don't think about the kind of power that we do have, nor do we plan strategies around building our power within our organizations. This is the focus of the June newsletter.

Sources and Types of Power

There are two sources of power - positional power and personal power.

Three Types of Positional Power

Reward - this is based on the belief that employees have that they will be rewarded for performing and this type of power is directly tied to the level of authority you have. Rewards can go beyond monetary rewards to include things such as access to equipment, people or information, special privileges, etc.

Coercive - this is based on a traditional command and control model of leadership where the manager or leader can implement punitive measures if employees do not conform to the directions. Although we would like to think that this model is not practiced today, there are many mangers who continue to fall into this trap. Punishment can include the not so obvious such as remarks intended to hurt, subtle body language, being excluded from access to information and groups. Enough said, I think we've all seen this in action at some time in our work life.

Legitimate - this power comes from the position that you are in and the rights, authority and status associated with the position - it is usually related having the knowledge to make decisions. Legitimate power is usually associated with traditional hierarchical organizations.

Four Types of Personal Power

If you do not have positional power, you can enhance your power though any of the four types of personal power - personal power is within our control and can be developed.

Referent - this power is related to who you are as an individual. Can people trust you? Do people know that you can get things done? This type of power is associated with integrity and high levels of trustworthiness because the individual acts within the best interest of everyone. People with referent power have a good track record and can inspire confidence in others.

Expert - this has to do with how knowledgeable you are and your track record in your specific field. Special knowledge or skills presents the individual as an expert and others are drawn to this person because of their abilities and technical savvy.

Connection - this kind of power brings access to information through informal channels and networks within the organization and external to the organization. You can have power because you have access to information that others do not have - it's power through the association with an individual or group.

Resource - this power has to do with access to and control of information and the resources are seen as not being available anywhere else. The negative side of this power can be seen when individuals do not want to share information for fear that they will lose their power.

Access Your Power

Most successful leaders are successful because they operate from their personal power and this means that no matter what positional power you have, you can be powerful if you have high personal power. What strategies do you employ to build your power base?

• Assess your credibility with others - what have you done to establish your credibility? What is your reputation?
• Reflect on your personal values - how do you bring these values to life in your everyday work with others? Would your peer group know what your personal values are? Your leadership brand reflects your values.
• Complete an audit of power within your work group (for more information, email me and I'll email you an audit matrix that you can use).
• Sign up for a course that you can take to continue to develop in your technical area or a specific area of your work. Understand your company's business by spending time learning from others in the company.
• Examine your network - who do you need to have in your network to increase the information you have access to, or who could influence a decision? Create a plan to develop relationships with those who have either a different power base than you have or whom you can form an alliance with to increase your power.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE LEADING WOMEN

Catherine Dyer has been promoted to Vice President, Distribution at West Jet.

Jennifer Mazer-Mikus has moved to Statoil Hydro Canada Limited as the Team Lead of Organizational Development.

If you know of someone who has moved or been promoted, let us know so we can celebrate this achievement.

PROGRAMS & EVENTS

Executive Development Programs for Women - Leading from Within

Stay tuned in the fall for more information on this next program - a combination of workshop and individual coaching that focuses on your own personal leadership brand.

Career Management Coaching

Have you carved your career path? How does your career fit in with your overall goals in life? Are you achieving everything that you want to achieve in your career? In these coaching sessions, you'll take a close look at what's important to you in your career, where you want to go in your work life, and how it fits with your overall goals in life.

Performance Planning Preparation

Once summer is over, many organizations begin preparations for the annual performance review. These individual coaching sessions will help you to present your performance information in a compelling way so that you can ensure that you have your development and progression needs met.

For more information on these programs, contact Donna Leibham.