Standing in Service as a Leader (P1)
How leaders relate to power shapes the human experience of work
Leadership always involves power.
The question is not whether power exists.
The question is how we relate to it.
Every leadership role comes with some level of authority, influence, responsibility, and decision-making power. Leaders shape priorities. Allocate resources. Set expectations. Influence behavior. Create conditions.
Power is already present.
But many leaders have never consciously examined their relationship with it.
And that relationship shapes culture more than most people realize.
The Leadership Conversation Most Organizations Avoid
Organizations spend a lot of time talking about:
communication
strategy
performance
engagement
culture
But very little time talking about power.
Even though power sits underneath all of it.
Power influences:
who feels safe speaking up
how decisions get made
how conflict gets handled
whether accountability exists
whether people feel controlled or supported
whether people move toward protection or contribution
Leadership is not just about what we do.
It’s also about how we use the power we’ve been given.
Avoiding Power
Some leaders become uncomfortable with authority altogether.
They don’t want to:
disappoint people
create tension
be controlling
be perceived negatively
So they hold back.
Expectations stay vague.
Accountability becomes inconsistent.
Standards drift.
On the surface, this can look kind or easygoing.
But over time, it often creates frustration for teams.
Because people need clarity.
They need direction.
They need leadership.
Avoiding power doesn’t eliminate its impact.
It simply creates ambiguity around it.
Power Over People
Other leaders relate to power through control.
Authority becomes about:
directing
enforcing
managing behavior
protecting status
controlling the narrative
maintaining control
And to be fair, this approach can absolutely produce results.
Especially in the short term.
But most of those results are driven by compliance.
People do what’s required because they:
are driven by fear
want to be liked or seen a certain way
need to feel safe and secure
are trying to avoid conflict
Over time, people learn:
keep your head down
don’t challenge things
tell leaders what they want to hear
protect yourself
And eventually, discretionary effort disappears.
Creativity shrinks.
Ownership decreases.
Trust erodes.
Because compliance and commitment are not the same thing.
Power To and With People
A more mature relationship with power asks a different question:
How do I use the authority of my role to create conditions where people can succeed?
This is power used in service.
Power to people means:
enabling
supporting
developing
clarifying
empowering
Power with people means:
partnership
collaboration
shared ownership
contribution
mutual responsibility
This orientation sees leadership not as dominance, but as stewardship.
The role of the leader becomes creating:
clarity
alignment
rhythm
consistency
development
accountability
So people can do meaningful work together.
Not controlling people.
Not avoiding leadership.
But consciously using power in service of both the people and the work.
This Is Where Commitment Comes From
Compliance is relatively easy to produce.
You can create it through:
authority
fear
pressure
incentives
consequences
Commitment is different.
Commitment grows when people experience:
trust
clarity
consistency
meaningful contribution
development
shared ownership
respect
In other words:
commitment grows when power is used in service.
Power Is Always Teaching People Something
Whether leaders realize it or not, their relationship with power is constantly communicating:
what matters
what’s safe
what gets rewarded
what gets ignored
what people can expect
Culture is shaped less by intention and more by repeated leadership behavior over time.
Especially under pressure.
Because pressure reveals how leaders actually relate to power.
A Final Reflection
Every leader uses power.
The question is:
Do people experience your leadership primarily as:
avoidance?
power over them?
Or power to and with them?
Because the answer shapes far more than performance.
It shapes the human experience of work itself.