65/664. How to Gain Power at Work When You Have None

How to Gain Power at Work When You Have None Networking across your company, cultivating charisma and developing expertise in an emerging area are keys to success—and can be learned By Sue Shellenbarger Many young employees are frustrated when their first jobs land them in powerless positions at the bottom of the organization chart after years of leadership roles in school, leading some to jump ship far sooner than employers would like. How do you gain power when you have none? More employers are opening new paths to leadership by encouraging employees to develop spheres of influence that have nothing to do with the org chart. Such informal power is increasingly important—and valued—in today’s flatter organizations, where more jobs confer responsibility for teammates’ performance without the authority to give orders or dish out rewards or punishment, says corporate trainer Dana Brownlee, of Atlanta. Specific behaviors can predict informal power, and many of them can be learned, she says. Networking across departments, building expertise in new areas and cultivating charisma are all ways to gain power, and make you a go-to person for colleagues. People who build strong networks ask lots of questions of colleagues, show respect for co-workers’ roles and accomplishments, and look for openings to help with projects that excite them, according to a 2017 study of 20 employers and 160 managers co-written by Robert Cross, a professor of global leadership at Babson College in Massachusetts. “These people create enthusiasm in the networks around them,” making colleagues more likely to offer them new opportunities, says Dr. Cross, who heads a 70-employer consortium studying collaboration. “I call them energizers.” … https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/how-to-gain-power-at-work-when-you-have-none-1520353800