The five powerful questions

A version of this picture is doing the SoMe rounds as a result of the latest allegations of abuses of power and position by senior MPs.

It strikes me that these are questions all of us in leadership positions, especially if we are leading corporate support functions, should ask ourselves on a regular basis.

What power have I got?

Is it for making decisions, for leading others in implementation, for taking part in the business activity/service provision, for supporting others who do the work? Or maybe it’s for providing specialist advice to influence strategic decisions, or for persuading others think differently about the decisions that need to be made?

Where did I get it from?

Is it legitimate, reward, expert, referent or coercive power? (French and Raven) Yikes, if it’s the latter! But if you were relying on that kind of power, would you be asking these kinds of questions, reflectively, in the first place?

In whose interest am I exercising this power?

Even if you believe your power is legitimate, expert and referent, i.e. you are in a formal role, with the requisite skills and knowledge to carry it out and people want to follow you, is this any good if you have lost sight of what the organisation you work for is there for? If your power is used mainly to make life easier for you and your team, watch out, and move to the next question.

To whom am I accountable?

Great question. Day to day, generally, in the grander scheme of things? Let’s say you are accountable in many ways to many different stakeholders, including yourself, for different reasons, but here I mean your internal customer. I could add what are you accountable for? See the first question. Are you held to account? If so how, and how do you feel about it?

How can they get rid of me?

Imagine if you had to be voted back into your job role regularly in a fair and democratic vote based on how you well you do against the first 4 questions. How would you do if you were interviewed routinely by a similar panel to that of your original interview, only this time, they know about you and your performance already?

I think these could be a pretty sound set of questions for regular reflection for all of us, not just politicians...