Losing the power game

I remember being passed over for a promotion, while somebody I started work on the same day with, moved up the corporate ladder. It was my first real job out of college, so while this was a bitter lesson, I’m glad I learnt it so early.

I thought that the way you get ahead was by working hard, getting the job done, and volunteering to help your colleagues when you could. I did all of these things and had great feedback for the quality of my output. I assumed that things were going well, and they were.

But on that day, I saw that they were going a whole lot better for someone else.

This colleague started on the same day as me, in the same position. I applied with a cold email, whereas this colleague’s father was a client. But she was smart, and we both worked hard, so I didn’t think it mattered.

I was a foreigner. My colleague was from a well-established English family. But again, I didn’t think it mattered.

Only, obviously it did. And not only because of the nepotism, but because this colleague intuitively understood our working environment, in a way that I did not.

She understood power dynamics and alliances. She knew who needed to hold her in high regard, and whose views didn’t matter. She understood that simply doing the job well wasn’t enough.

The day I found out about her promotion and my stagnation, I went to see my friend Katharine to cry on her shoulder. I was so upset that it took me a while to notice that she was wearing a red dirndl in Central London (she had just come from a fancy dress party).

When setbacks happen at the start of our careers, we have more time to use them as fuel.

Since then, I have been a student of power dynamics and determined not to be blindsided by them again. It is fashionable to say that “I don’t want to play politics,” but it is unrealistic if you want to build a career of repute.

This is as true for corporate leaders as it is for founders. Boards often fire founders, and managing investor egos can feel like a full-time job.

Wherever there are people who can affect your outcomes, power dynamics are at play.

The Digital Age has a new power player: the technologist.

Even in traditional businesses, digital transformation is top of the agenda and the Chief Technology Officer is a powerful figure. Data scientists can use their skills to find insights that could make or break your department.

In start-up land, this power dynamic is even more obvious. Since Silicon Valley was built primarily by engineers, there is a distrust of non-technical professionals. This is why I often see non-technical founders give away too much equity to their technical counterpart and undervalue commercialisation, while overvaluing technology.

There is a new power dynamic in the Digital Age, and if you want to have a truly great career, you will have to navigate it.

To help you do that, I’m teaching on Power in the Digital Age on Wednesday 12 July 2023.

You will learn a new way to think about power dynamics, so you can make them work for you. It will be thought provoking and practical

Register here

Speak soon,

Sophia