weekly journal entry for class power and politics. 6 double spaced pages
TAKEAWAYS PP UG Post QUIZ I
CASE: Karen Leary vs. Ted Chung
Takeaways (from a macro, cultural perspective)
Different cultures have different worldviews, values about power/relationships between superiors and subordinates. Refer to Hofstede discussion on power distance, collectivism v individualism and quantity v quality (so called masculity v femininity) dimensions of macro cultures.
A subordinate/superior is therefore not only an individual but also a cultural specimen
Therefore, know ahead where the value conflicts might arise so you can proactively manage the conflict before it arises.
Different cultures will also have different preferences (negotiation styles) toward conflict resolution. So be aware of the differences before you start the negotiation.
Takeaways (from a micro, individual perspective)
What do you do when a subordinate does not toe the line? Fire him/her? That’s the easiest but often not the wisest of options! Remember that you are being judged on how well you handle conflict with subordinates too!
Look for win-win solutions first. This is politically more defensible than win-lose options.
Be creative! Organizational structures are sufficiently malleable. The titles do not automatically mean a higher level of power. The real power is what you invest the title with. Can you give the subordinate a title that signifies status and ‘power’ without bestowing it? Titles have different connotations of power to different cultural specimens.
Every rule has an exception. Just make sure you do come up with a ‘theory’ of exceptions to the rule so it will not create perceptions of inequity. E.g.: Think of temporary private office space for new FCs developing “new markets”, not just Chung.
How much you need to compromise also depends on how much you depend on your subordinate’s skill set and how hard it is to replace it.
If confronted with a lose-win prospect, (i.e.; you lose), try to reframe it so your team perceives it as a win-win outcome.
The worst outcome, of course, is a lose-lose which leaves both parties bruised and licking their wounds, forcing irrational escalation of the battle.
CASE: The Cat is Out of the Bag
Theme: The politics of managing mistakes
Takeaways
Remember structural hole? It is the gap between action needed (strategy) and the resources available (structure).
Crisis, small or big, lays bare the structural holes
Crisis will naturally put severe burden on those with the most position power; whether they act on their position power by taking risks and rising to the occasion or try to avoid the issue will have long term consequences on the legitimacy of their position power
When those higher up do not take effective action or avoid action altogether, this opens up political opportunities for those in lower position power.
Whether they themselves will seize the occasion or freeze in fear depends on how think of it: as an opportunity to make their mark or a threat to avoid.
Mistakes are unanticipated events. Unanticipated events bring uncertainties. Those who can quickly adapt to the uncertainty, explain it, contain it, and thus manage it will quickly accumulate great expert power (expertise on managing uncertainty)
Mistakes, especially other people’s mistakes are great political opportunities for quickly gaining the image of a leader, independent of the position power one occupies.
This of course is not without risks. But better a martyr than a victim!
MORAL
The power of leadership is seldom bequeathed but seized on by those who grab opportunities that others avoid as threats.
POWER & POLITICS
CASE: Brent Spar
Greenpeace vs Shell
Theme: The power of surprises
TAKEAWAYS
First identify the language of conflict. Is it one of reason or passion? You can outreason reason but you cannot outreason passion! We need to outpassion passion and act accordingly.
Surprises erode your power! The best way to minimize damage from an ugly surprise (which leads to crisis) is to look for weak signals that foreshadow the conflict and prevent it ahead.
Surprises happen because:
organizations cultivate illusions of power, that things are better than they really are
Giving greater credence to supporting evidence than opposing facts (confirmation bias)
Ignoring the opposition
Obsession with safeguarding the status quo (resistance to change)
Organizational silos (decentralization) fragmentation of information and responsibility diminished perception of the big picture
More powerful management groups prevail over less powerful ones ignoring less powerful but important groups for organization’s well being critical information goes unheeded
Moral: To avoid a crisis, look ahead for predictable surprises; do systematic, scenario planning and analysis to look for potential flash points; build formal coalitions as well as informal networks both inside and outside the organization with diverse advisers (increase external network power) so you are not trapped by your own unconscious biases and intuitive assumptions. Prevention ahead is better, and cheaper.
If you couldn’t prevent it up ahead, think of co-opting ‘the enemy’ into a common agenda. You may get only half a loaf but it is better than none.
CONSTITUENCY MAPPING TO GROW YOUR CAREER:
FOES FENCE SITTERS FRIENDS FANS!
Exercise
Start with a specific job/career objective and with a specific time frame to realize that objective – one, two, or five years and so on
Think of the ones who could help you toward your goal (+ve ties); the ones who could impede your goal (-ve ties); and the ones who are neutral (+/-).
Draw your constituency map at present vs constituency map modified to meet your objective.
Think of possible power strategies you could adopt, listing first things first, to:
A) Strengthen the +ve ties (make friends into fans). Use this to:
B) Convert the neutral ties to +ve (make fence sitters into friends). Use these to:
C) Neutralize the –ve ties (make foes into fence sitters)
Now draw your revised constituency map once you have deployed your power strategies outlined in 2 above. If you correctly identify all your Foes, Friends and Fence Sitters, as well as all the powers available to you and leverage them, you should be far closer to realizing you job/career objective.
Reading: Identity issues in teams
Takeaways
People join groups for two reasons: self enhancement and self verification
The first is Self Enhancement = Others must feel good about you!
To get this, we will tend to present only a positive view/image of ourselves to others
This creates conflict since we are all bundles of positives and negatives, made up of strengths as well weaknesses
This leads to the next motive: Self Verification = We want to feel good as we are!
This means we want others to accept us as we are, warts and all.
To get this two motives realized, we form multiple identitites: core identity surrounded by a constellation of peripheral identities
When individuals come together, two things happen: They are forming impressions of others; And they are managing others’ impression of them.
Thus individual identity is already conflict-laden! Group identity is worse! It leads to task conflict ( people get in each other’s way) and affective conflict (people get under each other’s skin)
Solution: Look for inter-personal congruence (personality wise and task wise) in forming teams.
If you cannot get this congruence, go for a different arrangement (from reciprocal dependence to say sequential dependence) to manage the process.
MORAL: When it is impossible to manage a team, break it down into manageable components and manage each of them separately.
Case: Heidi Roizen
Theme: The Power of Networking!
The power progression:
An individual actor making connections (Tandem, Stafford, T/Maker)
↓
A high status player leveraging these connections (Apple)
↓
A broker building connections
↓
A hub of a constellation of network configurations (Softbank)
DIMEN SIONS OF NETWORK POWER
Network power depends on:
network density – how many people you got in your network
network diversity – how diverse the skillsets and contacts these people possess
network centrality- how critical to your career strategies these skill sets and contacts are!
TAKEAWAYS
Think of network power as a catalytic agent that makes possible the conversion of expert power into position power.
But network power without expert power is just inane happy hour!
Network power expands when you progress from a spoke to a hub which becomes a spoke in a still larger hub and so on.
The more intangible your expertise, the greater your dependence on network power to be known as an expert.
Expert power, without network power, is impotent. Network power, without expert power, is irrelevant.
Use network power in tandem with expert power to grow position power
