The title you hold, the level you are, the money you earn, all provide ways to exert power. But if you are banking on those, you miss the majority of your opportunities to be influential.
Two things to remember about influence:
- If you have a position of power: are you leading or managing?
- And if you don’t hold a power position: will you choose to lead from where you are?
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Some Things I Read Last Week:
The New Yorker: Is Amazon Unstoppable A peek into immense positional power (note: the quote below does not capture the article’s full essence): “Amazon is special not because of any asset or technology but because of its culture—its Leadership Principles and internal habits. Bezos refers to the company’s management style as Day One Thinking: a willingness to treat every morning as if it were the first day of business, to constantly reexamine even the most closely held beliefs.”
Book: Proposals for the Feminine Economy “…We are missing half of our gender vocabulary. Both men and women are very practiced at personifying masculine qualities, which are often codified as power and success. But are generally uncomfortable embodying feminine characteristics (e.g., empathy, receptivity, nurturing, introspection, and gentleness)—especially in business—because they don’t want to be perceived as weak, vulnerable, or inadequate.”
What I’m Working On This Week:
Giving away my legos.