Power has long been thought to be only for those at the top—but that’s never been the case. Reframing power as the ability to influence others can help you treat it as a resource that can, and should, be distributed across organizations.
In the online course Power and Influence for Positive Impact, Harvard Business School Professor Julie Battilana explains there are three sources of power:
- Positional: Power gained from formal rules held in organizations and society
- Personal: Power gained from individual attributes and skills
- Relational: Power gained from relationships with others
As an organizational leader, you naturally hold more positional power than your employees. You also likely possess a skill set that gains you personal power (perhaps you’re an exceptional manager, strategist, or analyst) and relational power (through connections with others).
Mid- and lower-level employees possess varying degrees of personal and relational power but relatively low positional power, especially if they work against stereotypes and social structures.
As a leader, you can foster power throughout your organization—a process referred to as the democratization of power in Power and Influence for Positive Impact. There are significant payoffs to giving employees the opportunity to gain more power, whether positional, personal, or relational.
Here’s a primer on what it means to democratize power, why it’s beneficial, and two methods for doing so with actionable next steps.
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DOWNLOAD NOWWhat Does It Mean to Democratize Power?
Democratizing power is the process of making power accessible to all. In an organization, this can mean redistributing power from a small number of individuals at the top of the hierarchy to all employees.
This doesn’t necessarily mean the hierarchy goes away—employees still report to managers, who report to theirs, and so on—but rather, decisions aren’t just made by those at the top and dictated to the rest of the company.
Sharing power isn’t a zero-sum game. Power imbalance is often caused by societal norms, and democratizing and redistributing it can restore balance. This creates a collaborative environment in which all perspectives and skills are valued, and those at the top are held accountable. By empowering your employees, you can enable your organization to excel.
Related: 7 Ways to Empower Your Employees
The Case for Democratizing Power
Democratizing power can sound unappealing and intimidating to those with a lot of it. Yet, the strongest leaders opt to empower employees rather than control them.
Benefits of democratizing power include:
- Helping keep those at the top from using power for purposes that are negative or don’t serve the firm’s best interest
- Striving for workplace equality across race, gender, sexuality, age, and other social factors
- Supporting corporate social responsibility goals, as empowered employees can have a stronger sense of purpose and be better equipped to tackle previously overlooked initiatives
- Cultivating diverse opinions and perspectives, which can result in strong teams that pay off financially through low turnover rates, higher motivation, and innovative ideas
Ways to Democratize Power in Your Organization
In Power and Influence for Positive Impact, two primary methods for democratizing power are outlined: sharing power and holding the powerful accountable. Here’s how to execute each method as an organizational leader.
1. Sharing Power
One of the most impactful ways to show employees they’re valued is to give them a seat at the table. Rather than making organizational decisions in a top-down, authoritarian style, give your teams the chance to develop positional, personal, and relational power.
Restructure Your Organization
This isn’t an option for all firms but can be worth it if there’s a serious power imbalance causing decreased employee morale. If you’re just starting a business and planning how to structure it, consider these governance structures to redistribute positional power:
- Transfer the highest power from an individual to a group.
- Reestablish as a cooperative in which all members hold equal shares and positional power.
- Implement codetermination systems in which employees can weigh in on decisions that directly impact them (for example, as members of the board of directors).
Involve Your Team in Decision-Making
By involving your team in decision-making, you give them the opportunity to increase their positional power (with added responsibility), personal power (by flexing their skills and ideas), and relational power (by collaborating with others).
Hold brainstorm activities in which each team member writes down their ideas before sharing with the group; this method can help avoid deferring to the more powerful voices in the room.
Share Personal Strengths in a Public Setting
To foster personal power and the chance for relational power, schedule time for employees to share their strengths and skills. For instance, when welcoming a new hire, have each teammate share a bit about themselves and specify how they can provide guidance and support.
Additionally, express gratitude and congratulations to individuals and teams for specific efforts. This broadcasts to the rest of your organization that those employees are proficient in a specific topic, which can increase their personal power and lead to connections that foster relational power.
Reframe Running the Business as a Team Effort
Instead of solely thinking of executives as those who run your business, reframe the narrative around the idea that each person is responsible for its performance.
Frequently communicate this by acknowledging people’s efforts, breaking down how team goals funnel into organizational goals, and expressing gratitude when appropriate.
When organizational change must be implemented, approach it from a team perspective.
2. Holding the Powerful Accountable
While sharing power can have a tangible impact, it doesn’t eliminate existing positional power structures. The other key method for democratizing power is holding the powerful accountable.
Appoint a Board of Directors
One of the most common ways to keep those at the top in check is to appoint a board of directors. A board of directors is a group of professionals elected by a company’s shareholders who oversee management and provide input on strategic direction.
It’s a safeguard to prevent executives from using power for purposes that aren’t in the organization’s best interest. Remember to consider your board’s diversity to ensure it includes various perspectives.
Think of Employees as Stakeholders
When making decisions, consider your employees’ viewpoints. Their overall job satisfaction directly impacts their ability to do good work, meet goals, and advocate for the firm—not to mention, their decision to continue working there.
Thinking of employees as stakeholders transfers some positional power away from those at the top, helping keep them in check. To take this further, appoint employee representatives who have a seat at the table when decisions are being made. That way, their thoughts won’t go unheard, and it’ll be clear you value employee feedback and satisfaction.
Open Yourself to Feedback
In the same vein as valuing employees’ perspectives during the decision-making process, be open to receiving constructive feedback. Consider making this part of the formal review process for your direct reports, or schedule open office hours or lunches to hear from employees you don’t directly manage.
Opening yourself to feedback is an important part of remaining humble, one of the key traits for effective use of power outlined in Power and Influence for Positive Impact.
Foster a Psychologically Safe Work Environment
If employees are going to voice their opinions, provide feedback, and participate in strategic conversations, the environment must make them feel safe enough to do so. If an individual feels they’ll be penalized or patronized for sharing their opinion, it’s possible they never will.
Fostering a psychologically safe work environment is an important endeavor that requires constant attention and largely hinges on your ability to make an example of positive and negative behaviors. For instance, if someone questions an entrenched idea during a meeting, tell them you’re glad they raised the point. If another employee dismisses someone’s idea or speaks badly of them, reinforce the expectation that others’ ideas are valuable and should be shared.
Empowering Others for Organizational Success
Many of the ways to share power within your organization also help hold the powerful accountable, and vice versa. These two methods should be used in tandem because they complement each other.
Democratizing power signals a strong, secure business leader. Through sharing power and holding the powerful accountable, you can enable employees to excel and ensure your organization’s best interest is at the forefront of decision-making.
Are you interested in learning more about how you can develop power and influence to make an impact within your organization? Explore our six-week course Power and Influence for Positive Impact—one of our online courses related to business in society—and download our free guide on becoming a purpose-driven, global business professional to learn more about how you can make a difference.