Six Levels of Power

At the monthly Global Revenue Review breakfast meeting, the CEO allows the executive team to take the initiative. The CEO doesn’t sit at the head of the table, listens a lot, and defers to the group decisions. That afternoon in a cost-cutting meeting with the same team, the CEO sits at the head of the table, takes charge and gives orders. Such apparently drastic changes in style can make a lot of sense. The key question is however: does the rest of the team understand the reasons for the changes in behaviour?

Exercising power is an essential part of a senior executive's job. The challenge is to communicate explicitly and consistently to others how much power is to be retained, and how much shared. The amount of power that executives delegate is seen as a reflection of the amount of power they trust the employees with. When it is unclear among employees whether the leader will show up as ‘the boss’ or as ‘a team player' it creates uncertainty about people's responsibility and trust level.

The problem is, when it comes to power sharing, executives tend to function on automatic pilot and give the matter little thought, instead of making an effort to understand the dynamics at play, and how best to deal with the issue.

Fortunately, there is a solution. Executives must stop delegating power haphazardly, and, a lot of the time, incorrectly. They must be conscious of how they share power, what level of power sharing is appropriate, and then articulate the level of power sharing clearly to the people they work with.

6 LEVELS OF POWER
Executives can bring clarity by awareness and understanding of the following six levels of Power Sharing, (see Figure 1) which range from Level 1 with 100% of power in the hands of the executive, to Level 6 where 100% of the power is with the team.

Level 1: Decide & Announce is where the executive makes an announcement. There are times when this is the appropriate level of power. For instance, if there is a fire in the building it makes little sense to debate if leaving or not is not a good idea. This style is more from the ‘80s.

Level 2: Decide & Sell is what most executives do. He or she makes an announcement, and then sells it: "We are going to increase market share in the Asian markets. I have spoken with the CEO who agrees it is the right move." It sounds objective, but it is just selling a predetermined decision. This style is more from the ‘90s.

This method is often used, when Level 1 appears too dictatorial. However, Level 2 puts the executive in a perceived weaker position, as it allows disagreements. Internal politics is a lot about selling your agenda. The moment the executive starts selling, the employees will think: "You have already decided. So, why do you need to sell this?"

Level 3: Decide & Invite Questions is a more socially acceptable selling process, but still a predetermined decision. It is pleasant to hear, "I think that we need to increase our market share in Asia. What do you think?" A discussion ensues, people feel empowered, thinking that the boss values their opinion.

However, this only works a limited number of times and certain situations. At the end of the process, when the executive says, "Well, I still think we need to go ahead with this," the employees are left wondering why the executive bothered to ask for their opinion in the first place.

With the first three Levels of power the executive has already made the decision. It is only a question of how they present that decision. Sometimes internal politics and corporate culture dictate if Level 1, 2 or 3 is appropriate. Often though, if you have already decided, it is best to be straightforward and Decide and Announce.

Level 4: Seek Suggestions Before Deciding is where empowerment begins. "We have a revenue problem. Should we increase our market share in Asia? What do you think?" is a discussion where employees can defend personal opinions and agendas. Yet, although there is a discussion and no predetermined decision, the boss still makes the final decision.

Level 5: Set Limits & Keep Veto Right goes further along the power sharing route. Here the executive sets boundary constraints to a problem, "We are going into Asia, we need to decide by x date, with x budget, and produce an increased market share within 12 months." The group, with the executive as a group member, has the freedom to determine the problem and provide the solution, with the limits set. The executive, however, has a right of veto.

Level 6: Surrender Veto Right is the highest level of power sharing. This is the same as Level 5, however, the executive does not define the problem or the solution, and does not retain the right of veto.

FOR YOU
Familiarise yourself with this model. Print the model, place it on your desk, and start thinking about "Where am I now on the continuum? In my next meeting, where should I be?”

Once you start monitoring your power sharing behavior you will notice that most of your decisions fall at one of these levels. You will become aware of how you deal with power sharing, and begin to understand which decisions fit on which levels. For instance, a trivial matter, like deciding whether to have a Christmas party does not require Decide and Sell. Eventually, through an awareness of what level you are at, and need to be at, comes consistency in the changes of your behaviour.

Finally, there are two important points to remember. First, executives often have a default mode at Level 2 or 3. Used to winning, they find it hard not to sell. This habit can be rather destructive. Remember, you don't need to sell everything all of the time.

Secondly, executives get into the habit of keeping power and taking decisions. Moving to higher levels of power sharing where there is more employee involvement can be difficult. But it is even more difficult for the confused employees, who will interpret real delegation of power as just another way of giving an order. The executive may say, "This is only a suggestion, you are the experts, you deal with this problem on a daily basis; it's your decision." But, since the employees are used to take anything from above as a command, they don't hear the word "suggestion." They treat it as an order.

So, when you start changing your behavior, don't expect people to understand it right away. They will need several months and they will test you to see whether you are serious and consistent. You must continually reinforce the "suggestion" statement over a long period of time.

No one said that power sharing is easy. It isn't. Get it right though, and the people who work with you will get the kind of power sharing that they need and appreciate; and the organization will better for it.

Figure 1