Good Power

In researching leadership in First Nation societies, I was struck by how leaders effectively use power that comes with their leadership role. The leaders I met or were told about have a knack of using the positive dimensions of power while avoiding the potential negative aspects of their elevated position.

Like the different levels of leaders in workplaces, the effective use of power in societies applies at each level in which the society is organised. At one end of the continuum is the band- and village-based societies; leadership in these societies is similar to being a team or department leader. At the other end of the continuum are the highly organised societies; these leadership roles are similar to senior executive jobs. ?

Himba society in Namibia is organised at the level of the village. One leader (Umuna, pictured) told me that a key part of his role is ‘to make sure that the village doesn’t fall apart. I have to step in if people don’t cooperate with each other.’ That demand will resonate with team and department managers.

In the northern Pacific of Canada, leadership roles in Haida society are similar to divisional jobs in workplaces. My host on Haida Gwaii recalled the generous approach of a leader. ‘In my lifetime, Claude Davidson was a wonderful chief. He had a heart of gold. He was generous with less fortunate people, such as single-mothers and widows. He provided them with fish and seaweed…’

Leadership roles in North American Mohawk society are similar to senior executive roles. I was told that chiefs are expected to have a ‘good mind’, meaning the chief is fair, soft-spoken and has a good heart. The opposite to ‘good mind’ is if a leader throws their weight around by speaking angrily or impatiently to people. Mohawk call this behaviour ‘throwing sparks’ and a chief speaking in this way is asked to calm down.?

What I was told in my interviews resonates with research on relative power in human groups. Researchers from Stanford and the University of California studied the positive and negative indicators of power. They found ‘striking differences in how powerful and less powerful individuals perceive and act within the social environment.’

They listed many of the perceptions and behaviours of powerful people. Some are negative and some are positive.

Positive Implications of Power

On the positive side, when people are in positions of power, they are more likely to:

??????? Initiate ideas and be more direct in their expression of ideas

??????? Be more engaged in group activity

??????? Express approval and affection

??????? Show more gestures and less facial construction

??????? Display smiles of pleasure

??????? Feel and display positive emotions.

Negative Implications of Power

When people are in positions of power, they are more likely to:

??????? Talk more, speak out of turn, and interrupt more

??????? Take what they want for themselves and are faster to detect material rewards

??????? Treat any situation or person as a means of satisfying their own needs

??????? Ignore what other people say and want

??????? Ignore how less powerful people react to their behaviour

??????? Act rudely and are more aggressive

??????? Enter the social space of others

??????? Tease, and are more aggressive in their teasing

??????? Stereotype others

??????? Eat with their mouths open and get crumbs on their face and table!

Power is neither a good nor a bad thing – it’s a question of how it is used and a leader who uses power constructively adds to the social harmony of a group.

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(Source: Keltner et al, ‘Power, Approach and Inhibition, Psychological Review, 2003, Vol 110, No 2).