EngineerHer

I’ve written before about personal sovereignty, the power of clothing, and a few other bits and bobs on this blog. But following last week’s post on Amber Czech, I wanted to talk about power in the workplace.

You see, at times, it can seem like we have very little power in our own workplace. There are plenty of people out there willing to tell us how lacking we are in many different ways. Some of them even bother to try and be nice about it, but really – it’s rare anyone has an open discussion about power.

Really, openly, using the word.

So, here we go!

What is power?

• the ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way
• the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events
• authority that is given or delegated to a person or body

(Stolen from the dictionary I have at home – the old Collins English dictionary from about 1992… Well that’s the year I started secondary, so I’m assuming it’s from around then. It’s a bit battered after 30+ year)

There are other definitions of course, but seriously – governmental power doesn’t affect most of us in the every day workplace. So let’s look at these one by one.

Authority that is given or delegated to a person or body

Yes, I’m starting at the bottom. Because, really, this is less effective in the workplace than the other kinds in my opinion.

The more senior you are in the organisations, usually the more power you have. Usually. Or at least, the more power you appear to have. But it depends on the organisation and on your position. Not to mentioned a few other things.

Think of it – a senior manager decides that a certain procedure or protocol needs to be updated. It tends to get updated. I mean, it might not get updated with the points the senior manager thinks it’s getting update with, but there will be a flurry of work and generally something will get an increased rev number, right?

That’s a form of power. To have people jump to your will. And while it might seem attractive, there as so many ways to work around this, it’s not funny.

(To my current employers, no, I swear, I would never do this…)

Or a corporate policy comes down that now all hi-vis has to be pink instead of yellow. (You think this is ridiculous, but I’m just waiting for the day…)

In more practical terms, this sort of power tends to come with approvals in the workplace:

• financial approval
• time approval
• event approval

It’s official, usually clear and with key responsibilities attached.

The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events

This one is usually the one that people talk about. It’s the key person power. It’s the admin assistant power. That person who doesn’t apparently have any power, but you’d better be nice to them if you ever want a useful conversation with someone who has the key power you need to access.

It’s the reason you should always be polite and helpful to everyone you meet on a job interview.

But there’s another side to it. It’s not about necessarily having access to just one person. You can also look at this as the power of the network.

When you know who makes the decisions and who influences those people, you can build up the network to access those people. It’s sometimes called “soft power” when it refers to women and the “old boys network” when it comes to men. (Not always, before everyone has heart attacks, but I rarely hear “soft power” applied to men…)

This is about being able to have those casual chats with key people. Or being known for expertise in certain areas. Just being known to be helpful and be able to point someone in the right direction.

It’s not always about the Big Decisions. It’s sometimes about helping someone else out cos you have the time and you know the right resources to collect.

This isn’t about forcing people to do things. It’s more about enticing and appealing to people to bring them along a journey. (We’ve all heard that in change management in the last few years, right?)

Where authority power, for want of a better expression, comes purely from perceived or real authority, this type of influence or soft power comes from a place of trust and engagement.

Without trust, this sort of influencing just doesn’t work. Or at least – doesn’t work for long!

The ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way

This one is my favourite. And there’s a lot to it!

For me, this is fundamentally, the ability to be myself in the workplace. It takes a certain amount and kind of power to show up, purely as ourselves. (And yes, wear whatever the hell I want in a professional setting – today is the start of the Christmas season for me. The seasonal t-shirts are on!)

There is power in being able to say what you want. And yes, that sometimes comes with seniority. It also comes with purely not giving a shit what happens to you. And it can come from the confidence that you know your stuff and you’re not afraid to be clear about that.

There are plenty of people in senior roles that are not confident enough to be using this power.

OK, there are also plenty of people in senior roles who are over confident and really shouldn’t be, but y’know, one problem at a time ok?

But when you know you’re on solid ground, when you know what you’re talking about, when you know your worth, your value and what the loss of you would cost the organisation – it’s a pleasant place to be.

But that’s not all

There’s also other forms of power in the workplace.

These are ones I’m not so fond of.

Intimidation: Look, the Amber Czech story is one that many people can speak about in terms of “something similar happened to me”. I don’t know many female engineers who haven’t been subject to intimidation attempts in the workplace. It’s shit. But it’s also a reality. And while HR departments all over will be shocked to hear it – it’s a reality for many people. Intimidation can be physical, verbal, emotional.

I know there are very few men in my workplace that couldn’t harm me significantly if they wanted to. I depend on professionalism and, well, basic human decency, to prevent that from happening. But there are people who want to use their size, or perceived physical strength to force others to back down. And if it’s not physical, it’s the “seniority” bullshit.

Hiding: yeah, there’s a lot of power in people not knowing who you are. It’s sometimes a comfortable space. It won’t lead to career growth or progression, but there are times when staying quiet, staying small, staying hidden just works for someone. When no one sees you, there’s nothing stopping you doing what you want.

It’s not a long term strategy, but it’s one that works for a while and can be useful for recovery periods.

Violence: Yeah, there’s power in violence. And I’m not even talking about drawing a clout on someone. I’m talking about the old-fashioned, fists slamming into a table, voices raised consistently, the general oppression of any sort of opposition. Or indeed, the creation of adversarial situations to “keep people on their toes”. There’s power in what that man did to Amber Czech. (No, I’m not naming him. He doesn’t deserve that. She deserves to be remembered).

Ending someone’s life is the ultimate power.

I know it’s uncomfortable.

But understanding power dynamics and knowing how to navigate them in whatever organisation you’re working in is important.

And ultimately, if you are unhappy, you’re ultimate power as an employee is to take your expertise elsewhere.

I’ve received so many emails after last week’s post from women who have experienced violence and intimidation in the workplace. Please feel free to keep sharing if it helps. I’m answering all of them!