Power sans the business card

Whatever rank, title or position of authority you hold today, have you ever thought of who you would be when your powerful business card goes away.

Positional power is the authority you wield by virtue of your position in the organisation's structure and hierarchy. Personal power is your own strength and ability to influence people whether or not you have any formal authority.

Business leaders when in power typically use position and personal power to lead employees. While some have personal power, you may have come across bosses who have only position power with no superior capacity, than you, to lead.

Haven't you had bosses who you thought were not fit to be your bosses? Some of you may be having one at present.

If you have neither position power nor personal power then your choices in life are limited. If you have position power without personal power, then you can get what you want done in areas where your position has influence. Employees out of fear will do the tasks to stay afloat - may be with no respect or loyalty.

A question that we all have to grapple with is, 'How do I know when to use position power and when to use personal power?' There are some black and white areas and some grey areas.

Black and white or clear-cut areas are occasions where it is obvious that due to your position, you need to assert the power of your position. Grey areas are those murky situations where you could go either way.

In such situations, there is no sure-fire formula to follow. Great leaders seem to listen to their inner voice based on instinct or wisdom before they call the shots.

Younger generation

The world of work has changed and keeps evolving rapidly. In fact, the younger generation of employees, unlike their older co-workers, do not respect position power.

If you have personal power, then you can influence and inspire people anytime and anywhere. Clearly the ultimate is to have both forms of power and to use your personal power more - rather than your position.

The balance of position power and personal power a leader exerts, depends on a complex mix of his or her leadership background, self-esteem, confidence, values, assessment of the respect received by others, the particular situation and people involved, and preferred behavioral style.

If it is the skill set that earned you that important job title, it is the knowledge you gained studying hard to get into that league of intellects. It is your ability to handle pressure, your can-do mindset. It is your character, resilience, persistence, patience and intelligence. These things are internal to you.

They cannot be taken away from you. So the right thing to do is to put more effort into enlarging and expanding your personal power. Are you a committed life-long learner? Do you love to read, think and push your boundaries to grow.

Personal power

The interesting thing here is that when personal power is used wisely, it increases your positional power. When positional power is used wisely, it increases your personal power.

However, when either one of them is used improperly, it reduces personal authority and positional authority. You are the center of the employees' world. Everything starts and ends with you. There is nothing wrong with positional power but it should be backed by personal power to remain as a leader. Position power without personal power cannot be sustained.

Position power gained through personal power is long-lasting but with a continuous expansion of your portfolio of strengths. Do you try to remember that your position power is not you, that it is external to you? That you never really own anything here on earth. At most you rent it during your brief stay.

It is your personal power that is you and the source of your true strength, your true power. Always remember that the power that will remain in you when you lose the power of the Business Card is your real power.