Power is inevitable

I recently did some leadership training at work. We were presented with the following:

Despite considering the question, I wasn’t compelled to click on either option. When questioned on why I hadn’t responded, I answered that for me it can can be either depending on the form of power. I also added ‘Power is inevitable’. Now the facilitator really liked this and embarrassingly latched onto it for the rest of the session.

To be clear, the context is power in the political sense. ‘Control’ or ‘Influence’ could be used, but ‘Power’ sounds much more sexy. For most of us, power in the workplace is inevitable. Customers, Clients, Managers, Suppliers, Experts you name it. Every entity is exercising some form of power, therefor i didn’t see the framing particularly helpful.

Instead, when considering Power, I offer the following metaphor. Think about the Ocean. Many forms of power at play: moon, tides, weather systems, continents, reefs and marine life all exert force on the water, which in turn transfers that force itself, creating a perpetual loop of power.

Movement of the ocean is inevitable. Despite how it may feel sometimes, how you interact with the Ocean is up to you. you might paddle in the shallows on a nice day. You might dive under the surface and be oblivious of the weather. You can be continually belted by the surf until you are exhausted. You may perceive the Ocean as good or bad depending on your situation (fine) but it won’t change the tides.