Chapter 20 Chapter 20 A correct understanding of the power of leadership

Russell, a famous philosopher, said that "the biggest and most important thing in human beings is the desire for power and honor." It can be seen that power, a social phenomenon that was born almost together with human society, has a strong magical power.But where is the real mystery of power?It is that power can generate authority, and power can bring prestige.However, because of this, on the one hand, power can play a positive role in maintaining the stability of the organization and promoting the development of the organization. On the other hand, power can also destroy the stability of the organization and disintegrate the organization; On the other hand, power can also corrupt people and bring huge disasters to people.It can be seen that power has a strong duality.As a leader, we should realize this rationally and establish a correct view of power. At the same time, we should also understand the general principles of the use of power, so as to avoid going into the misunderstanding of power and being wronged and hurt by power.

In this regard, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia is an excellent example of being good at harnessing power.Faisal was very talented when he was young, and his father also placed great expectations on him.But for some reason, his father made his younger brother Saudi Arabia the crown prince in 1933. In 1953, Saudi Arabia ascended the throne and concurrently served as prime minister, and Faisal served as foreign minister as crown prince. Not long after Saudi came to power, a series of mistakes occurred in the process of governing the country, which plunged the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into internal and external difficulties.Saudi Arabia had no choice but to let Faisal take over as prime minister.It took Faisal just one year to get the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia out of trouble.But the Saudi king soon dismissed Faisal.A similar situation happened again later.The lessons of his two rulings have warned Feisal that in order to successfully implement his own major policies, he must have enough power to keep the cabinet closely united around him.So he, with the assistance of other ministers, deposed the king of Saudi Arabia.After Feisal came to power, he used his power to govern Saudi Arabia in an orderly manner, and he himself enjoyed a high prestige among the people.

In short, since power has duality, leaders should establish a correct view of power, find ways to overcome the negative effects brought by power, and give full play to their strengths, instead of being corrupted and confused by power, like those who are prosecuted for corruption and bribery. The two former South Korean presidents Roh Tae-woo and Chun Doo-hwan, and the former Philippine President Marcos who lost power because of the power to rule the people, eventually became victims on the altar of power.As long as a leader understands some principles of using power and uses power properly, he can establish his own authority and become a successful leader.Specifically, the general principles that leaders should grasp when using power mainly include the following aspects:

1. Use power with caution It is true that leaders have great power, but they must be used with caution. Power is better reserved than used, and it is not easy to show off yourself, let alone abuse it.When a leader uses power, he must observe the three precepts.One refrain from using power for personal gain.The second is to avoid using power for personal gain.The three precepts are loyalty and power.Self-seeking, favoritism, and loyalty are all abuses of power, which will damage the image of the leader, weaken the power of the leader, and ultimately lead to the failure of the leader's career.Former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo was brought to a court in South Korea for trial because he practiced favoritism, abused his power, and collected a large amount of bribes during his tenure.Not to mention that in real life, many young and middle-aged leaders whose careers are flourishing are ultimately hurt by power because they do not know how to use power prudently.Therefore, leaders must use power carefully.

2. Be realistic and contribute first Leaders use power to establish prestige, so they must grasp the best time for power to be effective, and at the same time be good at using influence to make their own contributions, and never show off their power and play tricks.Smart leaders are very good at using influence to promote work. At 2:15 a.m. on February 17, 1962, the waves from the hurricane broke the embankment of the Elbe River, and the flood flooded into Hamburg. About 1/5 of the entire Hamburg area was submerged in the flood.Schmidt, the director of civil affairs of the Hamburg city government, happened to be driving back from West Berlin. When he saw the disaster, he immediately provoked the heavy burden of flood fighting and disaster relief.Under his command, various aspects formed a disaster relief force, and after concerted efforts and rescue efforts, the tense flood relief mission was successfully completed.At this time, everyone discovered that the commander-in-chief of this large-scale operation turned out to be a director of the Civil Affairs Bureau who had just taken office for two months. When people asked him why he could make such an astonishing move at such a critical moment, he replied, " At that time, I couldn't think about it that much, and I had no other choice." This action made Schmidt a well-known figure in the Federal Republic of Germany at that time, with great prestige. Eight years later, he successively served as Minister of Defense and Minister of Economy and Finance. In 1974, he was elected prime minister and served three consecutive terms.

3. Dare to speak and act, decisive and resolute When leaders encounter issues of principle or emergencies, they should dare to speak and act, and use power decisively and resolutely.Once a subordinate violates discipline, he must be resolutely punished regardless of his closeness, favoritism, or individual differences.V. P. Singh is the loyal and capable assistant of Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Ind. Gandhi. In 1980, he was sent to Uttar Pradesh to take charge of the party and government power and served as the chief minister of the Uttar Pradesh government.After Singer took office, he made a famous speech "I cannot bring heaven, but I must open fire to hell".He kept his word and acted resolutely. He replaced more than 1,000 officials suspected of corruption within three months of taking office. In February 1985, Singh became the finance minister in the government of Rajiv Gandhi.He continued to fire on "hell" and recovered a lot of losses for the government.Later, Singh was transferred to the Minister of Defense for some reasons.Two of the cases he investigated in the Ministry of Defense even involved Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was so annoyed by this that he expelled Singh from the Congress party in July 1987.However, Singh's status in the minds of the Indian people has been greatly improved, and in 1989 he became the prime minister of the first minority coalition government in Indian history.

4. Learn to reward and praise subordinates As a leader, you must realize that everyone has advantages and disadvantages, and you should learn to use the right to reward appropriately to praise and encourage the initiative and creativity of subordinates, so that subordinates realize that if they can obey the wishes of the leader and Make corresponding contributions, you will be rewarded and praised.Iida Kakuhei, a veteran of the Kato Kiyomasa family in Japan, is a brave general who is good at military affairs.However, after Kato Kiyomasa's death, the family was added the title of nobility, but Kakuhei resigned from office and did not go to seek official positions elsewhere, but lived a hermit life in the capital.Once, he said to others: "The first time I went to the battlefield to make meritorious deeds, I also witnessed many friends die in battle. At that time, I thought what a terrible thing this is, and I don't want to be a warrior anymore. But, When I returned to the camp, General Kato Kiyomasa praised my performance today, and then gave me a famous sword. At this time, my idea of ​​not wanting to be a samurai was dispelled. Later, every time I went to the battlefield, I always had the feeling of "don't want to The idea of ​​becoming a warrior again. But every time I go back to the camp, I will always be praised and rewarded, and the people around me will look at me with admiration. Therefore, my mind is shaken again and again, and I always fail to achieve it. My wish is always to serve Kiyomasa. Now that I think about it, Kiyomasa really used me cleverly." Famous generals like Iida Kakuhei, when faced with war, would feel afraid and would not want to be a samurai anymore. idea.What's more interesting is that he devoted his whole life to serving Kiyomasa because he was praised and encouraged by Kato Kiyomasa.It can be seen from this that when a person is praised, he will definitely feel grateful and strive for strength.

5. The power of convincing people with virtue What makes a leader memorable is often not his power, but his virtue and grace.Leaders who can only give orders think they are authoritative, but in fact they are not recognized by their subordinates. On the contrary, they will stifle the creativity and initiative of subordinates. "Repay grievances with virtue" is a famous saying of Lao Tzu more than 2,000 years ago. The virtuous emperors and officials of all dynasties have always regarded this famous saying as their standard.For example, in the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang did not use force blindly in order to subdue the minority nationalities in the Southwest.

Sakyamuni was also a person with very high moral cultivation. According to Buddhist scriptures, under the influence of his morality, even a mad elephant would kneel down tamely. As a leader, although you can't keep up with Zhuge Liang and other great men in everything, you must at least constantly cultivate your own morality. For subordinates who like to oppose, it is best to exercise your power with power on the one hand, and not forget to show favor on the other. Dezelai moved him and made him obey him wholeheartedly. 6. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never lose a hundred battles

Every leader is an expert in career development within a certain range, and should accurately measure his own strength and accurately judge changes in the environment.Sun Tzu, a famous military strategist, once said, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles." People in leadership positions should really consider this point, and carefully measure their own strengths, such as the company's business, organization, and the maximum energy of the group, etc. Only by understanding thoroughly from an objective perspective will you not make mistakes in judgment, and no matter what you do, you will be sure of success.If there is no "war" when it is time to "war", and no "peace" when it is time to "peace", it will only lead to the failure of the leader himself.

7. Keep promises and be invincible Leaders should have a broad mind, keep what they say, and do what they do.It can be said that the credit of a leader is a powerful intangible force and an intangible wealth.During the struggle between Chu and Han at the end of the Qin Dynasty, there was a famous general named Ji Bu.He was originally a subordinate of King Xiang Yu of Chu, and he fought bravely.Liu Bang suffered a lot from him, so he was very worried about him. After Xiang Yu was destroyed and the Han Dynasty unified the world, he immediately offered a reward for Ji Bu's capture.But even so, some people were willing to protect him, and even pleaded with Liu Bang for him.What kind of charm did Ji Bu have that made everyone not betray him even after being rewarded with a thousand pieces of gold?The reason is very simple, because Ji Bu is a gentleman who talks about his promise.At that time, there was a saying that "it is better to get a promise from Ji Bu than to get a thousand taels of gold." It can be seen that his degree of keeping his promise is the key to being respected. Later, Liu Bang really pardoned him and made him an official in the Han Dynasty.However, he still maintains his consistent style, neither submitting to the powerful nor being influenced by others, he is very clear about right and wrong, and is not ambiguous at all, so his popularity is getting bigger and bigger, and his official position is getting higher and higher.It can be seen that credit is both intangible power and intangible wealth.If a leader can gain everyone's trust, everyone will naturally work for him.On the contrary, if the leader often breaks his promise, no matter how many benefits he promises at this moment, others will doubt his sincerity in fulfilling his promise, and he will not be so sincere and attentive in doing things. In real life, we often see those who combine authority and success are admired and envied by people. At this time, we will say with emotion that their luck is too good, and at the same time feel that power is too far away from us. It may even be elusive, but in fact it is not. As the saying goes: "Opportunities only favor those who are prepared." None of the scientists who have made great achievements succeeded by looking at the sky for inspiration. Only by reading a lot, trial and error, and working hard in practice can they inspire new ideas , to discover the inner connection of things and turn them into facts.Similarly, if you want to gain power, you must work hard, even make many attempts that others can't imagine, and the goddess of luck will come to you. Chances are accidental, but the ability to recognize and exploit them is not.To perceive the coming opportunity, you need to meet the opportunity with wisdom and agility, seize the opportunity, and also need the spirit of bearing hardships and standing hard work.It is wrong and ridiculous to pin the success of gaining power on charm, appearance and background, and it is even more weak and incompetent to be discouraged and satisfied with the status quo.Generally speaking, there are several ways to obtain power: 1. Create luck In any organization or group, there is far more work that can be done than there is time to do.This means that most workers, especially leaders, can choose what tasks to accomplish and how to accomplish them, and even the most tightly supervised workers have some freedom, even the freedom to work harder than others.Hard work will always be noticed, and if the energy is properly directed, the power will gradually increase. Here are some small suggestions: Rethink what you are doing. Think about what to do next. Be practical in doing things. Dare to accept additional tasks. Helping others is also helping yourself. Be brave and seize the initiative. The above is to make people who want to gain power realize that if you have a job that is more suitable for you or that you like more, you should learn to seize the opportunity, attack boldly, and at the same time strive to improve your working methods.For example, a HR leader spends too much time on administrative work that he doesn't like. Not only is it ineffective, but he is gradually isolated.He also finds that he spends too little time talking to others about the things he loves.So he delegated some of the administrative work to others, and started talking to the employees working in the unit himself.He soon found that this not only made him happy, but also gradually expanded his power, because these conversations gave him information about the various departments.After talking, the employees agreed that he has great power.And this, in turn, further expanded his power.In fact, no one encouraged him to do it, but he didn't stop him, and he himself benefited a lot.So if you want to gain power, you must learn to create opportunities and luck for yourself. Even a little bit may lead you to the pinnacle of power. 2. Use time to create power For everyone trying to gain power, they must have a strong sense of time and learn to control their own time.Don't wait until you feel like everything is ready to start, or you'll never get started.The burnout before starting a job often stems from the fear of starting, and the only way to solve this contradiction is to do it right away.If you’re low on motivation or determination, you can explicitly tell yourself to limit the time you spend on it, and once you start, you’ll surely find that you don’t have to rely on anything to keep working.The way time is used to further create power is by using free action to speed things up, or to slow things down.For many people, speed is an unfamiliar word, and many people fail because they are too slow and miss opportunities.Power seekers never let things get ahead of them.They don't hesitate to get a head start if needed.Speed ​​also prevents a person from changing their mind, whereas procrastination induces a change of heart.Persuasion is about giving the other person time to reflect and reconsider their situation, and sometimes inaction can actually help gain power.Therefore, for those who seek power, sometimes the strength of the concept of time will determine their success or failure, so they should not be careless. 3. Dare to take responsibility In any group or organization there are some leaders who like to hold meetings and talk big.These people criticize the efforts of others and take credit for them when in reality they do little.While their loafing is annoying, it also creates a potential power void for those trying to gain power.Take on one more important task to gain control, and over time, you become indispensable, and eventually you may be in the decision-making circle, which creates opportunities to gain power.Let’s use a simple analogy: when a company is facing a financial crisis, when everyone feels headaches, a staff member bravely stands up and takes responsibility, because he can solve the company’s crisis, then he suddenly becomes an important person. Invited to all decision-making meetings of the company so that he can exert his influence on resolving the crisis, he is naturally one of the leaders of the company.Of course, be careful not to be taken advantage of.The best thing to do is to serve directly the person who might influence your promotion or whose attention you hope to get.On the other hand, one must be responsible for accepting a task, otherwise when things go wrong, shirking responsibility will only appear unreliable. In short, things with potential benefits are sometimes worth taking risks. When you are in a certain leadership position, you will naturally become an imaginary "enemy" of some people who want to gain power, so as a leader, how will you face these people around you and make them become You work hard, but at the same time, how will you face your work, make it go smoothly, and gain capital for yourself to a higher power?You need to consolidate your power.In the actual practice of consolidating power utilization skills, the following methods can generally be adopted: 1. Create your own legend Creating your own legend means leaving a more mature and personalized impression on others. Although a legend itself does not guarantee wealth, power and success, it is often a precursor to success and ensures that your power will be stable.To use a simple analogy, the desk facing the door always looks dignified, because it controls the whole room, so this desk arrangement has become the most common arrangement in the office, but if you do the opposite , put your desk in the corner or facing the wall, implying that you don't need to put a piece of wood in front of yourself to protect yourself. gain an advantage. 2. Maintain a moderate sense of distance Of course, the degree of keeping a distance varies from person to person, and the purpose should be to hide without being isolated, and to create a reputation for yourself with a changeable personality.Of course, be aware that rejecting people thousands of miles away may also miss a good opportunity.So the best way to get the best of both worlds is to make yourself appear approachable and at the same time use some tricks to show how busy you are.For example, you could agree to speak to the caller and ask him to set up an appointment with the secretary to emphasize how busy you are.The way you answer the phone can also show this, wait for the phone to ring at least three times before answering, otherwise it will give the impression that you are eager to answer the phone. 3. Be the master Mrs. Thatcher had a famous saying, "You can submit if you are willing to submit, but I will not." She left an impression of an ideal leader in Western culture-resolute and decisive.For leaders, there is nothing more terrifying than indecisiveness and indecision. However, decisive decision-making makes a leader look like a leader.In the past, the British flocked to see King Henry II because of the vitality displayed on his face.So if you want to be successful, it is enough to show more vitality, speak concisely, and walk firmly.In short, be careful not to show childishness or excessive enthusiasm and anxiety.If you speak loudly, others will think that you are decisive and give the impression that you are in control. 4. Be alert Leaders must have great insight and be able to quickly explain what happened.The so-called insight, in secular terms, is to learn to pay attention to the emotional changes of others and understand the factional struggles in the department.Evidence shows that leaders trust people they know more than people they don't.This, of course, also reminds you that the people who are most likely to plot against you are not those who are openly hostile or uncooperative, but those who smile and don't seem to be playing tricks. 5. Act as a middleman Leaders are sometimes involuntarily exposed to the firestorm of factional fighting, which is often extremely vulnerable.Of course this also presents opportunities.In this case, the key to being a leader is to learn to divide and conquer.This requires you to act as a middleman between the two parties.The secret to success in the middle of power is to secretly agree with everyone while cornering them.At this time, the leader needs to learn some diplomacy, one of which is being approachable, which is the guarantee of consolidating your power, because people always satisfy, trust and praise those they feel comfortable with.Second, learn to be silent.If you have to say it, you must stop it. The art of power distribution of leaders is an art that integrates the arts of using power and employing people, and is the art of leaders using various methods of power distribution flexibly and effectively.It can be said that the success or failure of leadership activities often does not lie in the level of the leader's own talent, but in whether he is good at distributing power.Being good at discovering talents and empowering them is often the key to the success or failure of a career.Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, analyzed the reasons why he won the world at the banquet, and said: "I am not as good as Zhang Liang in strategizing and decisively winning thousands of miles away. Govern the country, appease the people, mobilize the army rations, and make the roads for transporting the rations unimpeded. I am not as good as Xiao He. With millions of troops, the battle must be won and the attack must be taken. I am not as good as Han Xin. These three people are all outstanding, and I can use them. If you don’t trust him, you can’t appoint him, and you get angry with him, this is why Xiang Yu lost the world.” It can be seen that if a leader is good at discovering talents and distributing power so that they perform their duties and fulfill their responsibilities, they will Achieve a successful career.On the contrary, failing to recognize talents and appointing talents, distrusting and reusing talents and restraining them will inevitably seriously affect the development of the career. It can be seen that the distribution of power is the key to the success of the business.To learn the distribution of power, it is required that the leader should not leave the power alone and have no intentions;So how can we avoid these two extremes?That is the "middle way" of centralization and decentralization.Of course, when a leader distributes power, he must not stick to the rules and be limited by dead methods. He must be good at using various principles flexibly and creatively using various distribution methods and arts. 1. Let go boldly Guan Zhong believed that no matter how big or small, the monarch should personally intervene. This is because the monarch relies on his own ability.As a leader, especially a high-level leader, you should understand the principle of "Let go of the authorization, and you will not accept the orders of the emperor outside." You should be clear about which things should be managed by yourself and which things should be managed by subordinates.You must work hard to manage the things you should manage, and you must choose talents and appoint talents for the things that should be managed by your subordinates, and let them go boldly. 2. Appropriate detachment The leader's power distribution is an important detachment art of the leader.If a leader gets stuck in daily chores for a long time, he is bound to neglect his leadership duties.Heal the head for a headache, and treat the foot for a foot pain. Take care of one and lose the other, and get twice the result with half the effort.Leaders must cut through the red tape and choose people to empower.In short, only when leaders are freed from trivial matters can they be able to do their jobs with ease and achieve better leadership effects. 3. Know people and make good use of them Knowing people and making good use of them is the art of employing people in the distribution of power among leaders.To know people is to be able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of others historically and comprehensively.To be good at appointment is to be able to scientifically and rationally appoint talents and grant powers, so that people can make the best use of their talents, so as to effectively play the role of talents.Knowing people is a necessary prerequisite for doing good work. 4. Open-minded and magnanimous Being open-minded and magnanimous means that the leader should be lenient in the distribution of power and use the strengths of the people. It also means that the leader can be lenient to the minor right and wrong and temporary mistakes of the subordinates after the distribution of power.Being open-minded and tolerant is not only an important ideological style of a leader, but also a clever and invisible strategy and leadership art.Throughout the ancient history of our country, most of the more enlightened and accomplished politicians are generally tolerant of the details of their subordinates' disrespect and gaffes, and deal with them correctly, so they are quite popular. The leader's management of power is actually the management of those in power and those who use power.Because power does not exist independently, it is just a tool, attached to people, and controlled and used by people.Therefore, the management of power, in the final analysis, is the management of people, improving the quality of leaders at all levels. To achieve this, it is obvious that general calls alone will not do.A set of rules and regulations must be established, and this set of rules and regulations should be highly operable and effective.Specifically, leaders of different positions and levels should have different emphases and treat them differently in power management. For example, there should be differences and emphases in the management of the power of leaders at different levels of high, middle and low levels.High-level leaders are mainly responsible for decision-making and command, and should focus on managing and evaluating the organizational effects of their power.Middle-level leaders are responsible for comprehensive coordination work, and should focus on checking their power management effects.While the low-level leaders are mainly responsible for implementing policies and organizing implementation, they should focus on managing the operational effects of their power exercise.The assessment of the same leader should also pay attention to changes in conditions, and adhere to the principle of unity of motivation and effect. In short, power management is a complicated matter, and there is no fixed model. It requires leaders to flexibly formulate the management methods and assessment rules and principles of the department from a long-term perspective in combination with current objective conditions.