The difference between acquired authority and positive power

- [Host] "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader." The mark of a great leader is how people feel when they're around you and how you respond to and grow from that leadership. We all know people who rely on a command and control style of leading. At their worst, those leaders often confuse fear with loyalty. May even bully those around them into submission and no one likes that kind of leader. People want to feel uplifted not made to feel like they're not enough. They want to feel hopeful, not fearful, and they want to feel supported not undermined at every opportunity. At their best, these types of leaders may lean into acquired authority that's bestowed upon them by their title or position, but quickly learn that this authority on its own is not enough to influence those they lead, in what they'd hoped. When we lead with positive power versus acquired authority, we show up from a place of service to help those we lead instead of prioritizing the needs of the business. In other words, we put people first. Curious whether you're leading with acquired authority or positive power. Well, do the majority of your conversations with team members begin with personal check-ins? Do you inquire about their emotional wellbeing or offer up words of encouragement? Or do you only focus on expected outcomes? If you lead more with the latter, you depend more on your acquired authority rather than your positive power. Listen, no leaders perfect all the time, but when we lean into the positive power we possess, we become much more effective as leaders than those who only ever lean into their acquired authority to manage people. We also begin to shape the employee journey. Some years ago, I was attending my regularly scheduled one-on-one meeting with a team member. Let's call her Jennifer, and I was going to start with some basic niceties and just move right onto a project that needed to be completed because of the increased pressure I was sensing for my manager. All of a sudden, right there in front of me, Jennifer broke down in tears, stunned I didn't know what to say or do for a moment, and then it hit me. Even though the project we were working on continued to loom large in the back of my mind I chose to set it aside and to meet Jennifer where she was at. I had to uncover what was upsetting her. After asking Jennifer what was wrong, and listening to her explanation, I passed her a box of tissues so she could wipe her tears and tentatively, I asked what could I do to help? I wanted Jennifer to feel cared for and important to me. I realized that project could wait. To my surprise Jennifer actually didn't want me to do anything. I realized with a jolt of understanding that she wanted me to hear her and really listen to her. In retrospect, this is a great way to look at leading with positive power. I could have been impatient with her and rushed her in the direction of talking about the project. After all, as her manager, it's completion, rested on my shoulders. But doing that would've meant I skipped past Jennifer's needs as a valued member of my team. Choosing to lead with positive power doesn't mean striving to be a perfect leader. It just means your desire to uplift people is stronger than your desire to get things done at any cost. It means that you don't get stuck in your day to day responsibilities more than the need to meet your people in the moment. If you notice that you currently lead with a mix of both styles, that's okay. That just means you have an opportunity to learn as you uncover exactly what people need from you to feel fully supported, invested, and motivated to contribute.