Power Power is often defined as having the ability to influence the behavior of others with or without resistance.
Although the definition seems benign, power can involve coercion by force or the threat of force.
There are several types of power used to effectively reach goals in various situations.
Positional power is held based on the position (often within an organization) of the holder.
Expert power is held based on the skills or expertise of the holder.
Coercive power is held based on the ability of the power holder to extend or withhold rewards such as valued assignments or salary increases.
Granting Power Power is granted in several ways.
Power can be granted as a result of a promotion or a hiring action, but is often delegated on a temporary basis.
Before granting power, factors such as the person's knowledge, skills, and attitude should be considered.
Those same factors, in addition to others, should be considered before hiring or promoting someone into a position of power.
Power should be granted to people who hold the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and experience to understand and be able to work toward meeting the mission of the organization.
Power should not be granted without objectively evaluating the individual's qualifications.
Power should not be granted purely on a relationship basis (i.
e.
, power granting decisions should not be based on nepotism).
Positions of power are often granted to people who do not have the necessary education, skills, and experience to effectively use the power given.
In those cases, the power is misplaced and will likely undermine the mission of the organization.
Misplaced Power Many people seek powerful positions for the financial benefits and/or the ability to control people and situations.
In many cases, the person seeking the position of power knows he does not have the necessary education, skills, and experience to perform as expected, but he convinces himself that he will quickly gain what is needed to effectively use his power.
The person granting the power often recognizes the person to whom she wants to delegate power is not ready for the task.
Remarkably, in many cases, the power is granted--misplaced.
Evidence of misplaced power is shown in the news media on a daily basis.
One Army veteran commented on the increase in the number of powerful positions being granted to less-than-qualified Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs).
The veteran felt the Army was promoting based on eligibility versus qualifications resulting in the unqualified leading the untrained.
The increase in NCO promotions led to the feeling that never before had so few been supervised by so many.
Hopefully, the promotions/misplaced power will not play a significant role in any unfortunate incidents during war time.
Leaders of countries have been labeled as unqualified to hold power.
Many leaders, when faced with the option of diplomacy or war, choose war when diplomacy seems to be the best choice for the people those leaders represent.
In the past, the result has usually been large-scale casualties and worse conditions than those claimed to be the impetus for the war decision.
Recently, the former leader of Liberia was convicted of war crimes for facilitating a civil war in his country that lead to the deaths of over 50,000 people.
A former President of the United States and seven of his associates were also found guilty of war crimes for facilitating the deaths of thousands of innocent people.
The President of the United States is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress.
The former President, it was reported, declared war on a country outside of congressional law.
The current President of the United States is believed by many to be no better than his warmongering predecessors.
Past warmongering leaders, if they held the necessary education, skills, and experience, might have decided to use diplomatic means to settle issues and spared thousands of lives.
Research in experimental psychology suggests that the more power one has, the less one considers the perspective of others--the less empathetic one becomes.
Misplaced power on local levels can be problematic also.
The Mayor of New York City appointed a friend, who had no educational leadership background, to fill a high-level education position.
Despite the outcry of foul-play by the citizens of New York, the Mayor justified his selection by saying he could appoint whomever he wanted to appoint to the position.
The new appointee accepted the powerful position, took office on January 1st, and resigned from office 96 days later.
The actions taken by the appointee while serving in the position angered parents and community groups.
On one occasion, the appointee suggested birth control as a solution to classroom overcrowding.
Surely, the solution offered would not have helped the educational organization meet its mission.
Power seems to be misplaced in several education systems throughout the United States.
In the northeastern region, power is being used to block research aimed at solving the infamous bullying problems plaguing children.
Institutional Review Board (IRB) leaders, responsible for oversight functions concerning research that involves human subjects, often create reasons to stop/change research designed to find strategies to eradicate bullying.
One prospective researcher reported the reason his research was blocked involved the possible revelation of bullying incidents in schools where bullying was reportedly under control.
The IRB leaders either want to hide the bullying issues or do not want to be forced to explain their inaccurate positive past reports concerning bullying in their schools.
Conclusion Misplacing power (i.
e.
, giving power to people who are not qualified to effectively use power) can be detrimental to organizational missions and to people who must follow the empowered person.
The former President of the United States and General of the Army, Dwight D.
Eisenhower, warned his followers that if they did not guard against the looming close friendship being developed between the military and industry (he phrased it as the military-industrial complex), a disastrous rise of misplaced power could result.
He was right.
If people/followers will openly share their displeasure concerning misplaced power, as the people of New York City did when their Mayor appointed the unqualified educational leader, power granting decisions will yield better qualified holders of power and society will benefit.
Although the definition seems benign, power can involve coercion by force or the threat of force.
There are several types of power used to effectively reach goals in various situations.
Positional power is held based on the position (often within an organization) of the holder.
Expert power is held based on the skills or expertise of the holder.
Coercive power is held based on the ability of the power holder to extend or withhold rewards such as valued assignments or salary increases.
Granting Power Power is granted in several ways.
Power can be granted as a result of a promotion or a hiring action, but is often delegated on a temporary basis.
Before granting power, factors such as the person's knowledge, skills, and attitude should be considered.
Those same factors, in addition to others, should be considered before hiring or promoting someone into a position of power.
Power should be granted to people who hold the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and experience to understand and be able to work toward meeting the mission of the organization.
Power should not be granted without objectively evaluating the individual's qualifications.
Power should not be granted purely on a relationship basis (i.
e.
, power granting decisions should not be based on nepotism).
Positions of power are often granted to people who do not have the necessary education, skills, and experience to effectively use the power given.
In those cases, the power is misplaced and will likely undermine the mission of the organization.
Misplaced Power Many people seek powerful positions for the financial benefits and/or the ability to control people and situations.
In many cases, the person seeking the position of power knows he does not have the necessary education, skills, and experience to perform as expected, but he convinces himself that he will quickly gain what is needed to effectively use his power.
The person granting the power often recognizes the person to whom she wants to delegate power is not ready for the task.
Remarkably, in many cases, the power is granted--misplaced.
Evidence of misplaced power is shown in the news media on a daily basis.
One Army veteran commented on the increase in the number of powerful positions being granted to less-than-qualified Non Commissioned Officers (NCOs).
The veteran felt the Army was promoting based on eligibility versus qualifications resulting in the unqualified leading the untrained.
The increase in NCO promotions led to the feeling that never before had so few been supervised by so many.
Hopefully, the promotions/misplaced power will not play a significant role in any unfortunate incidents during war time.
Leaders of countries have been labeled as unqualified to hold power.
Many leaders, when faced with the option of diplomacy or war, choose war when diplomacy seems to be the best choice for the people those leaders represent.
In the past, the result has usually been large-scale casualties and worse conditions than those claimed to be the impetus for the war decision.
Recently, the former leader of Liberia was convicted of war crimes for facilitating a civil war in his country that lead to the deaths of over 50,000 people.
A former President of the United States and seven of his associates were also found guilty of war crimes for facilitating the deaths of thousands of innocent people.
The President of the United States is responsible for the execution and enforcement of the laws created by Congress.
The former President, it was reported, declared war on a country outside of congressional law.
The current President of the United States is believed by many to be no better than his warmongering predecessors.
Past warmongering leaders, if they held the necessary education, skills, and experience, might have decided to use diplomatic means to settle issues and spared thousands of lives.
Research in experimental psychology suggests that the more power one has, the less one considers the perspective of others--the less empathetic one becomes.
Misplaced power on local levels can be problematic also.
The Mayor of New York City appointed a friend, who had no educational leadership background, to fill a high-level education position.
Despite the outcry of foul-play by the citizens of New York, the Mayor justified his selection by saying he could appoint whomever he wanted to appoint to the position.
The new appointee accepted the powerful position, took office on January 1st, and resigned from office 96 days later.
The actions taken by the appointee while serving in the position angered parents and community groups.
On one occasion, the appointee suggested birth control as a solution to classroom overcrowding.
Surely, the solution offered would not have helped the educational organization meet its mission.
Power seems to be misplaced in several education systems throughout the United States.
In the northeastern region, power is being used to block research aimed at solving the infamous bullying problems plaguing children.
Institutional Review Board (IRB) leaders, responsible for oversight functions concerning research that involves human subjects, often create reasons to stop/change research designed to find strategies to eradicate bullying.
One prospective researcher reported the reason his research was blocked involved the possible revelation of bullying incidents in schools where bullying was reportedly under control.
The IRB leaders either want to hide the bullying issues or do not want to be forced to explain their inaccurate positive past reports concerning bullying in their schools.
Conclusion Misplacing power (i.
e.
, giving power to people who are not qualified to effectively use power) can be detrimental to organizational missions and to people who must follow the empowered person.
The former President of the United States and General of the Army, Dwight D.
Eisenhower, warned his followers that if they did not guard against the looming close friendship being developed between the military and industry (he phrased it as the military-industrial complex), a disastrous rise of misplaced power could result.
He was right.
If people/followers will openly share their displeasure concerning misplaced power, as the people of New York City did when their Mayor appointed the unqualified educational leader, power granting decisions will yield better qualified holders of power and society will benefit.
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