It is better to be loved than feared.

We have all heard this age-old adage, and some of us even subscribe to its meaning. However, there are still a large number of managers and workplace leaders that instill more than a little fear in their employees and team members; thinking that it is the only way to get the job done.

Many managers, once they achieve the position, feel they yield a sort of power. Using that power to motivate, reward and punish those under them, accordingly.

Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines power as the ability to act or produce an effect. That is no doubt the responsibility of the manager. However, the synonyms of the word beg more reflection: might, force, strength, authority.

If we are to look at the common conceptions of the word ‘power’, we see that the consensus is that power is a more specific way of producing an effect. And perhaps, just maybe, not the only way.

Dr. Thomas Gordon, with his PhD in clinical psychology, discusses the use of power in his book Leader Effectiveness Training.

“Power is derived from possessing the means to provide others with what they need in exchange for compliance to the desires of the person with power,” he wrote.

(more…)