Bases of power and responsibility

A wise man once said, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

I believe it was the philosopher Voltaire who coined the term, but if it helps to think of Ben Parker uttering the words in Spiderman, go with that.

Whatever the origin, it’s true that we are all responsible for using the power we have in an ethical and accountable manner, and that begins with knowing what kind of power we wield.

My intent here is not to demonise ‘power’. In many of the forms below power is natural, legitimate and inevitable. If you are skilled at something, that gives you a type of power, for instance. Also, the notion that power always corrupt simply isn’t true. It merely tends to amplify existing character traits, freeing us up to act on our wishes, for good or for ill.

Below are the six main ‘bases’ of power as described by noted psychologists, French and Raven. While you could argue there is more nuance to this issue, and you’d be correct, they do provide a nice frame to start thinking about where we hold power and why. I’ve noted for each an example of what you might want to watch out for as an unhealthy manifestation of that type of power.

• Coercive power (Threats and punishments) — You may have the power to wield a ‘stick’, but if that’s your starting point, especially when individuals have not demonstrated any lack of compliance, your relationships are likely to lack trust.
• Reward power (Incentives) — If you’re constantly dangling carrots then you’re dealing heavily in extrinsic motivation. Moreover, you run the risk of incentivising actions people may not be entirely comfortable with, should the reward outweigh their sensibilities.
• Legitimate power (Position or title) — Are you leaning on “because I said so” more than explaining the rationale and logic behind your decisions? Buy-in is likely to be low.
• Referent power (Liked or admired) — We are all more inclined to do things for people we like and respect, but if you consistently over leverage your status to get your way, people may feel manipulated.
• Expert (Knowledge or skills) — Are you withholding your expertise to gain an advantage in other areas?
• Informational (Ideas, opinions and facts not tied to competence) — Hoarding information or ideas when there is no reason to do so other than to gain an advantage is morally questionable.

What kinds of power do you hold in different contexts? How is it manifesting? What is your intent? What is the effect on those around you? An honest inventory of these question is a simple way to work towards more responsible use of power.