Power – How to Build it Over Time & Lose It Overnight

I cut and sharpened my business choppers at a Fortune 50 company where I learned how to grow my credibility and power over time

and then learned how to lose it overnight.

Surviving and Thriving in My Fraud Job

Bored and not earning enough money as a teacher, I decided to head for the fertile ground of the high tech industry which was growing like crazy at the time. A certificate course in technical writing for the software industry would be my ticket. Soon after graduating, Anonymous Inc. offered me a technical trainer position. It happened at a job fair and went pretty much as follows:

• I hand my resume to the recruiter.
• He looks at it for 20 seconds and says. “You can teach, and you understand technology. We need technical trainers. Are you interested?”
• “Yes.”
• The end

I was hired to teach computer assembly technicians how to diagnose and fix hardware problems before shipping the behemoth systems. I had no idea how to do that, so I quickly found a problem I could address. Most of the technicians and assembly line workers were afraid to use computers to run tests, track inventory, etc. They feared they would crash and burn the system. I designed and taught a course called The ABC’s of Computers to allay their fears. The course was fun, interactive and very popular. The demand was high and people really did become more competent at their jobs, so I was spared from having to teach what I didn’t know. I also earned a solid reputation.

Within a year I left my fraud job and settled into Management Development. Because it played to my strengths I was good. Truth be told, I was excellent.

Gaining Credibility and Power with Love

I fell into the hands of an incredible mentor-sponsor who operated out of love and respect for the people around her. She decided Anonymous would pay for me to earn my master’s degree in organization development, a capability the company needed for its future. In return I shared what I learned with my peers.

I was in love. With my work. Love begets love, so I got more notice, more sponsors and within a few years had the respect of my peers and a number of senior line managers. I was soon named Senior Manager, Organization Development and had the opportunity to mentor and sponsor others.

Sitting Atop My High Horse

Howard, the most senior Organization Development Manager at Anonymous, tapped me to do some work with Frank, an executive in Field Service, and his team. Howard and I discussed the work briefly at the outset.

I was appalled by what I saw. During one particular meeting Frank and his staff were seated around a Polycom conference phone, perched in the center of a table like a shrine, awaiting a call from the SVP of Field Service. An announcement came though that the call was delayed, and one staff member stood up to leave for the rest room, politely stating, “Hope you don’t mind if I step out for a minute.” “Well, I do, so sit down.” Frank retorted. It felt like some sort of cult gathering with Frank commanding when and who could have bathroom breaks, water, or food. This was the “crippling hold” Frank’s team members had described to me in private. It was also clear they mistook their lack of understanding for what he said as a sign of his brilliance. I thought he simply made no sense. My attempts to strengthen the team’s capacity to give Frank feedback went nowhere, so I decided I to speak with him myself.

I donned my high horse with no information about Frank’s degree of influence or power in the company or with whom he held sway, and onward I rode. “The most significant problem with the team is you. You lead in ways that cause people to shrink. They have no power and they lose their intelligence. This is not an effective way to do business, and I cannot imagine you will succeed or go any further in your career unless you make some changes. In fact, if you don’t change, I imagine you may not be here much longer.” I don’t remember what he said, and I don’t think I cared all that much. I thought it was a lost cause, and this was my last attempt to intervene in a way that might have any effect whatsoever.

Losing Power on My Fall from High Horse

A year later there was an opening for an Organization Development manager who would be a peer to Howard. I was invited to apply. I considered it a slam dunk and was more than surprised when someone else was selected. My manager at the time was kind enough to tell me that Howard cast the dissenting vote, and he was adamant. It took me months to understand what happened and to eat that horrid crow dinner Howard prepared for me when I arrived at his door with questions and an apology.

The meal included several courses of new information. Following my feedback meeting Frank he went directly to Howard and asked or rather shouted, “Who is that woman? I will make sure she never works in Field Service again, ever. I want her fired.” Howard did what he could to calm Frank, and I wasn’t fired, but Howard felt slighted by my “lack of respect” for him. He thought as the senior person who referred me for the work, I should have sought his approval for the intervention with Frank. For my failure to do so, Howard put the kibash on my candidacy. The dilemmas was that I knew Howard rarely gave his clients deeply honest feedback, but instead served to further their ambitions and thereby achieved his own. Even so, I believe with a little more finesse and regard for the power dynamics of the situation I could have done what was needed with Howard’s support.

Learning from the Rise and the Fall

Here is what I took away from the experience of growing and losing power at Anonymous.

• Solve important problems even if they lie outside the strict boundaries of what you were hired to do
• Play on the learning edge of where the company is headed
• Respect power
• Being right and doing the right thing are not one and the same
• Go to the power sources for alignment before leaping into risk, especially if that risk involves other powerful sources
• Right does not make might and might does not make right
• The combination of might and right is probably best

Post Script

In the end, I was right about Frank. He was asked to leave, but being right got me only so far as the last rung on my shortened career ladder at Anonymous.

A few months ago I heard from two associates that Howard had joined their consulting firm, and left with a number of clients in tow, despite having signed a non-compete.

Wherefore art thou Karma?

Care to share your lessons on power?