Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 04

40 / Canadian Government Executive // July/August 2018 READINGS BRIEF A couple of not-so-new publica- tions have crossed my screen as I prepare for a leadership course that I teach at Queens. They both struck a chord that may be a bit contrapun- tal in these times of focusing on abusers of power. We need to do that and root them out – not to get rid of power, but to make sure it gets used well. To that end, power is not a dirty word in public sector leader- ship. In fact, having the right power mix and using it effectively is the key to getting any public policy implemented. The use of power to the right end is a core compe- tency that we so often see ignored because of this rush to modesty that pervades the bureaucratic culture. Right off the start, both Jeffrey Pfeffer in his classic, Power, and the Centre for Cre- ative Leadership (CCL) in its publication, “The Role of Power in Effective Leader- ship,” dissociate the idea of power from the idea of position in the hierarchy. Both see power as a combination of soft and hard characteristics that form a dynamic mix within organizations and that can come together in different ways at differ- ent times. The CCL did a major survey of leaders on what they saw as the true levers of leader- ship and how they are used. The top three most frequently leveraged sources of pow- er were the power of expertise, the power of information and the power of relation- ships. The power of punishment, or the ability to sanction individuals for failure to conform to standards or expectations, is the least-leveraged source of power. This is not just a happy-face notion of power, but a realistic one. Unfortunately, as Pfef- fer points out so well, too much is made of the leader-at-the-top image – even more so today when so many examples of the white knight leader abusing his or her power keep coming up. The other reality that both these studies point out is that power is a dynamic mix. Here one day and gone tomorrow. It is of- ten built up around issues or projects and then dissipates as the issues are resolved or the projects complete. Power and posi- tion are not equated, and the assumption that a person in a position of authority exercises a distinct and constant form of power is an illusion. Definitions abound of what power actu- ally is. Pfeffer uses a theoretical definition that power is the ability of one social ac- tion to overcome resistance in achieving a desired objective. My definition from both my experience in government and in academia is that power is the ability to get things done. Using that definition, the search for and use of power as a normal part of management starts to make sense. You can’t get much done without the right power mix. This will, of course, always in- clude some form of hierarchical authority. I use that word since most hierarchical po- sitions have both the power of the person and the power of the position itself, often written into law. Together they create the authority. Very simply, if you want to get some- thing done, you have to understand the power dynamics of the context. This means having political skills of percep- tion, communication and ability to make alliances. But you also want to know which levers you will need, such as key relationships that enable the quick cre- ation of agreements and problem solving. There is power in position, and it may not be your own. That is why sponsorship and protection from above are important in establishing your power mix. So too is the ability to use various forms of charisma (no, that is not a bureaucratic oxymoron) through style, inspiration and encourage- ment. We all know the power of informa- tion; not information hoarded, but infor- mation developed and shared at the right time. This links as well as the power of ex- pertise. Credible specialized knowledge is often a central part of public sector work. Having it or having access to it, or having it support your role, enhances your power mix. Finally, through a combination of po- sition, access to power, access to resources and sanctions, is the power to reward and punish. These are part of the reality of the power mix we are building here. So, it only makes sense to realize that power is not a dirty word. It is part of the air we breathe in government. Use it. Un- derstand what it truly is. Plan every major move with an eye to the power mix you will need to get things done. Never ever abuse it or take yourself too seriously in using it; remember that power and eth- ics actually belong together and are not a zero-sum game. A ndrew G raham is an Adjunct Professor at School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University. BY ANDREW GRAHAM IS NOT A DIRTY WORD POWER THIS SHORT COLUMN WILL PROVIDE BUSY PEOPLE WITH A QUICK REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN PUBLIC MANAGEMENT RESEARCH AND WRITING THAT MIGHT PROVE USEFUL IN THEIR DAY-TO-DAY WORK.