"You Got the Power to Let Power Go?"

This question, rapped by Kanye West in his song "Power," is a great intro into how leadership is everyone's business.  Though Kanye may not be a model citizen in some regards, I think we can learn something from the question he asks.

*Note: The question that is my title does not show up in this video (the abbreviated version of the song)



Let's have a look at: "you got the power to let power go?".  The first thing I notice is that power here takes the form of exercising self-discipline, which is not usually the first thing that comes to mind when this topic comes up.  Authority and influence go hand-in-hand with power, and the reading does a good job clearly defining all three terms.  Additionally, control, command, clout, and supremacy are all words that we closely associate with power.  But when we think about power, are we also thinking about leadership?  And when we think about leadership, are we thinking about effective leadership?

According to the class article about power and leadership, the most effective leaderhship happens when the individual in power empowers (letting power go according to Kanye) others around them.  And who does the leader empower?  Well, everyone, or as many people as possible.  See, leadership is everyone's business, and if just one or a few hold power, many people are left without a sense of investment in the organization.



Found this energy drink online.  Pretty cool name eh?

To answer the question ProfRoc posed in the prompt: Leadership is Everyone's Business means that each individual in an organization must have some ownership or meaningful contribution to the direction or achievement of the group.  More importantly, each individual must feel like they have ownership or meaningful contribution to the direction or achievement of the group.

How can this be achieved?  That's where power comes in.  If all power rests in the person at the top, or even a few people at the top, there is no sense of ownership or meaningful contribution from everyone else.  Effective leaders "let power go" by empowering others around them to lead the group and move things in a positive direction.

The next question that needs to be asked: how does one empower someone else?  Two ways in particular struck me as especially promising.

1. High work and productivity standards
   • This ensures that those who have been given power know that much is expected of them.  With great power comes great responsibility (credit to Spider-Man's Uncle Ben and others).  By agreeing to high work and productivity standards, those who are entrusted with power know that the organization is counting on them to make a meaningful contribution.  When people are faced with a challenge and meet it, a strong sense of satisfaction with their work usually follows. 
2. Clarification of organizational missions and goals
   • This is extremely important, and failing to execute this step can lead to big problems.  It must be understood that when an individual is empowered, they are to use their new power to work congruent with the group's missions and goals.  This subject can get tricky, however, because there is a fine line between checking up to make sure mission is being followed, and micromanaging.  Effective empowerment walks this line so the empowered understand expectations and also have creative freedom.

These are the components to effective leadership and empowerment, and would serve any organization and leader well.  Notice I asked a fair amount of questions in this blog.  I feel this approach is important when dealing with power to ensure it is being used properly and effectively.  If power rests with one or a few, and they have no one questioning them, corruption could be on the horizon.  While all the questions I asked in this blog are imporant to establishing a good leadership-power relationship, I think the most telling comes from our friendly neighborhood Kanye:

"You got the power to let power go?"