Ch. 14: Building Sources of Power in Organizations as a New Employee
Power in the business world is generally thought of as "working your way up". It's not usually considered granted to an individual without giving of their time and energy. This usually comes from being with a company for years and working towards certain positions. This blog will discuss ways a new employee can build sources of power for an organization.
Positional power in a company is important, however one type of power that is more important is personal power, which can still wield tremendous power and expertise (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016). One example of this is seen within the military. The ranking system is one of the most important distinctions in the military. Within it is contained a Chain of Command and the pay grade system. It is often broken down into Enlisted and Officers. While there is a definitive positional power that moves each service member according to their efforts and achievements, it is not the only way to gain ranks within the system. An enlisted member of the military who has many years experience and has gained one of the top tier ranks is still under a newly Commissioned Officer freshly out of the Academy or Officer Candidate school. The primary difference is the educational component. This expanded knowledge base has placed these individuals higher due to their expert power.
Knowledge is power and this expert power is derived from possessing knowledge or expertise in a given area or field and such individuals are highly valued for their problem solving skills and their ability to perform critical tasks and are therefore deemed indispensable (Merchant, 2019). There is something to be said for having expertise in a given area of field. While education is one way to gain such expertise, one can also gain this from on-the-job or life experiences. This experience can also show a proven reliable track record to an individual's task and organizationally relevant accomplishments and experiences (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016). So while an individual may be new to an organization they can bring relative experience and knowledge from both their education and/or former jobs or volunteer experience.
Photo found at Unsplash @huntersrace
Positional power in a company is important, however one type of power that is more important is personal power, which can still wield tremendous power and expertise (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016). One example of this is seen within the military. The ranking system is one of the most important distinctions in the military. Within it is contained a Chain of Command and the pay grade system. It is often broken down into Enlisted and Officers. While there is a definitive positional power that moves each service member according to their efforts and achievements, it is not the only way to gain ranks within the system. An enlisted member of the military who has many years experience and has gained one of the top tier ranks is still under a newly Commissioned Officer freshly out of the Academy or Officer Candidate school. The primary difference is the educational component. This expanded knowledge base has placed these individuals higher due to their expert power.
Knowledge is power and this expert power is derived from possessing knowledge or expertise in a given area or field and such individuals are highly valued for their problem solving skills and their ability to perform critical tasks and are therefore deemed indispensable (Merchant, 2019). There is something to be said for having expertise in a given area of field. While education is one way to gain such expertise, one can also gain this from on-the-job or life experiences. This experience can also show a proven reliable track record to an individual's task and organizationally relevant accomplishments and experiences (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016). So while an individual may be new to an organization they can bring relative experience and knowledge from both their education and/or former jobs or volunteer experience.
Photo found at Unsplash @moraisr
Another way that new employees can build sources of power in an organization can be to work diligently, thereby proving they are a hard worker. The personal power here is, simply, effort (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016). This character trait can show their employers that they are driven, ambitious, and committed. Other personal sources of power according to the text include; an individual's attractiveness or charisma and their credibility and legitimacy. As you can see, positional power is not the only source of power in an organization. Even newly employed individuals can bring some personal power to the company.
References
- Gulati, R., Mayo, A. J., & Nohria, N. (2016). Management: An integrated approach. Australia: Cengage Learning
- Merchant, P. (2019, March 8). 5 Sources of Power in Organizations. Small Business. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/5-sources-power-organizations-14467.html
- Morais, R. (n.d.). Red and Brown Book. Unsplash. Retrieved July 29, 2020, from https://unsplash.com/photos/fJLyQ81u80Y
- Race, H. (2017, October 10). person standing near the stairs. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/MYbhN8KaaEc
Comments
Post a Comment