Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em, Sixth Edition , 6th Edition

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Yield

POWER DOWN

Ponder this: Why would you give power away?

Think about being on a highway on-ramp in a busy city, at an intersection with no stop signs, or in a line forming at the movies. When someone says, “No, you go first,” with a smile and gesture, you may think how remarkable and rare that action is. To yield is to give way.

Similarly, in many workplaces, yielding is all too rare. It could be because managers want to hang on to their power or prestige once they have it. Or perhaps they’ve never had a manager who empowered them, so they’re not sure how it works. They may have learned to micromanage from the boss who never seemed to trust them, looked over their shoulders, and closely inspected every aspect of the ...