In Your Power

CHAPTER 14Position: From Overlooking Your Power to Owning It

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am only for myself, what am I?

And if not now, when?”

—Rabbi Hillel

You have power in your position no matter what position you're in. You want to enjoy the impact you can make by using it to its fullest.

We tend to think that the power we have in our position is defined by the responsibilities outlined in the job description and by the formal level of our position in the organization or community. But we generally have more power in any given position than we realize and are harnessing.

You want to go beyond a focus on performing the functions assigned to you and bring your own definition and creative use of power to any role. In the portal of Position, you will learn you have considerable latitude to support and uplift others, and that's true regardless of your spot within a company or community.

Bring Consciousness into the Use of Power in Your Position

If the term “position of power” is loaded for you, it's for good reason. Most of us have been subject to higher ups who lorded their power over us, so we think power is forceful or abusive. When we rise into positions of authority over others, we really don't want to be that person. (Yet a leader only acts in those ways if they are “in power,” but not “in their power.”)

And it's good to be mindful because research has found that when people get into positions of power, it can “go to our head” in a number of harmful ...