First Level Leadership

Personal Power: Can You Stop Your Seesaw

Personal Power is a case of “Power Over” or “Power With?”

A powerful lesson from a visit to a park

Recently, I ventured out with my son to a park and did everything possible that an eight year old would do. Tall trees, now gray, black, and frosty, surrounded the park; for it was in the depth of a severe winter.

We sauntered until we reached a seesaw

with iron seats of horrible repute. My son looked at me, then put his hands on the iron seats, shrugged his shoulders with a gesture that said, “Let’s have some fun.”

It became my son’s obvious desire that we must ride on the plank

Due to the differential in our weights, he could not enjoy enough, until I made adequate efforts to let him rise as well. Soon we were both happily moving up and down by sitting at the either end. 

On our way back,  

my son dozed off, and somehow I was totally submerged in an analogy between the recondite topic of Power, and the Seesaw game we had at the park.

You do not have to agree with my thoughts,  

but I am confident that they are laden with triggers for you to look within your self. In this section, I wish to lay down the importance of ''personal powers''. 

What is the basic principle of a seesaw?

In order for you to move up, the other must move down. If the person who is down wants to go up, the other person must somehow go down.

Shall we draw an analogy between a Seesaw and Power?

In order to increase your power, you have to overmaster the other.
You focus on specific efforts to give advantage to yourself over the other person.
You ignore the negative effects those specific efforts have on the overall relationship (remember, initially my son was not enjoying the ‘seesaw’). 

It is a case of “Power Over” rather than “Power With.” 

When you use seesaw power in relationships, 

whether personal or professional, it means that you believe your power is in part derived from making the other weak. In other words, your power is partly dependent on how much power he has. Does that mean that your power is dependent on him? If that were true then where is the real power?

Using the seesaw pattern always brings out the negative power  

It obstructs an effective and lasting resolution of the conflict, and ends up weakening the positive power of all parties.

What is positive power?  

Remember, Positive power energizes the way “power with” process rather than “power over” pattern. Positive power avoids seesaw power, the misguided perception that weakening the conflict partner will somehow strengthen one’s own power.

In order to explore your positive personal power let me ask you

What are the sources of your power?

Think of all the sources of your power.

Power Indicator 

If I strip you all these powers, are you left with any power? If you can say yes, maybe the powers you are left with are your personal powers.

And if you say no,  

it’s time you start building your personal power. When you think about these questions with sincerity, you can measure your own power by verifying these power indicators. 

In most cases, Positive Power indicators include: 

1. Trustworthiness
2. A Charismatic style
3. Ability to communicate opinions in a persuasive manner
4. Powerful and winsome ideas
5. Expertise of high value
6. Accomplishments that earn appreciation and respect
7. Relating well to others
8. Self confidence 

The sum of these personal attributes is a measure of your real power. Do you share any of these attributes?

If not,  

then start investing in your real powers earnestly. The starting point is to keep away from the seesaw, which is a negative power and does very little to build your true leadership powers. By means of these considerations, I can forecast the victory of your powers. 

Positive power matters most  

when you encounter many situations in which you must lead and manage when you are not the boss. It helps you to influence the thinking and behavior of others over whom you otherwise have no control.

Stopping Point! 

There can many sources of power in organizations including Positional Power and Relational Power, but Personal Power stays with you forever. Like electricity, it is invisible, but you can feel and observe its effects.

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