In spite of all of the workplace advice women are given I’ve noticed there is one topic that is seldom discussed – the importance of Informal Power.
Instead we focus our attention on women achieving Formal Power. I presume this is because Formal Power is an easy measuring stick for how far women are climbing up the corporate ladder. However, when we focus on Formal Power we neglect to mention that success isn’t measured by status alone.
Success is measured by our effectiveness – our ability to get things done.
In reality, Formal Power has very little to do with being effective. All our Formal Power does is give us the authority and responsibility associated with our role and title. It doesn’t guarantee we will be listened to, respected or have the power to influence or create change.
When I began my career as an Air Force 2nd Lt. this is the very first lesson men taught me.
As a 2nd Lt., I was an officer and had Formal Power over all of the enlisted ranks. However they reminded me that the Senior NCO’s in the enlisted ranks had Informal Power over me. Even though I “out-ranked” them, I could not get the enlisted ranks to carry out any of my orders unless the Senior NCO’s respected me first.
As the only female officer, in-charge of an all-male operation, this should have been intimidating. However, I heeded their simple lesson:
Before I could effectively exercise Formal Power, I had to earn Informal Power.
So I did.
Informal Power is the ability to lead, direct or achieve without the title or status derived from Formal Power. It is all about You.
Informal Power is derived from your ability to build relationships that are based on Respect. In other words, before you can exercise Formal Power, you typically have to do things and achieve things. You have to take actions that earn Respect.
As a woman I found another way to earn tremendous informal power in a male-dominated workplace: Stand up for what is right and fair.
Correct an injustice, deal with an ignored personnel issue or end a bad practice. Men in our workplaces can be pretty conflict-adverse so there can be a lot of issues that the guys never addressed. These are golden opportunities for women to seize informal power.
In the later years of my career, when a new job gave me Formal Power, I still always assumed I had no Informal Power. So, I focused on building that first. It was my Informal Power then made me a force to be reckoned with whenever I chose to exercise my Formal Power.
Informal Power is the Power of Influence.
Long before women had any legal rights we mastered exercising our Influence and Informal Power. However, now that we are seeking Formal Power we’ve shunned Informal Power as an inferior form of power – only suitable for those who aren’t capable of obtaining Formal Power.
This dismissal of Informal Power then creates myths about Formal Power, giving it much more power and control than it really has. We lead women to believe that with Formal Power comes respect, influence and ability to impose our will.
It doesn’t.
The weakest and most ineffective manager is the one who relies only on their Formal Power. They use the powers of coercion and reward to make people respond. Or they withhold information, or they don’t offer the help of their connections or expertise. They work from personal insecurities to exercise control.
However, people can only take so much of that before they leave the workplace for another job or they rebel against their manager.
Rebellion sets up a workplace battle between the forces of Formal Power and the forces of Informal Power. In my experience Informal Power typically wins out in the end. We see this lesson throughout history – it is Informal Power that brought about every successful revolution, rebellion and major social change.
So, let’s stop giving Formal Power more clout than it deserves.
Remember, Real Power comes from Informal Power. And Formal Power if awarded correctly, is the earned authority and responsibility to exercise our Informal Power in the best interests of all.
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