Pitfalls of Positional Power
Avoid these three things and your team will thank you.
Leaders with positional power have broad authority. Broad authority means consequences for bad behavior may be delayed or non-existent. If goals are being met, leaders may not feel the need to change negative behaviors. Even leaders with the best intentions can sometimes fall prey to small abuses of positional power. As the labor market tightens, retaining good employees means giving them abundant reasons to stay. Research on the leadership behaviors that promote higher team performance, increased retention rates, and overall happiness points to the importance of avoiding positional power traps like these.
Pitfall 1: Passing the stress buck
One day, when my son was four, I was late for work. He had dawdled a little, as kids do. But the real fault for the lateness was my poor time management. Regardless, I wanted someone to blame — someone that wasn’t me. I admonished him for making his mommy late. A few minutes later, I glanced in the rear view mirror. Tears wet his rosy cheeks. Only then did I realize what I’d done. I’d taken out my faults and frustrations on someone with less power than myself.
Psychologists call this ‘displaced aggression.’ Writer Martha Beck calls it ‘stress-rolling.’ But whatever name…
