In many of our formative experiences we’re taught that competence is an important (and perhaps our only) source of power. Being a competent student is necessary for academic advancement, just as being competent at our jobs is necessary for initial professional success. And this works just fine in the early stages of our lives and careers, but it becomes problematic when we continue to carry this mindset into more senior roles:
- We may seek to demonstrate our competence by continuing to own responsibilities or execute tasks well past the point when they should have been delegated to others.
- Leadership roles entail helping others learn and grow, and we may seek to teach by utilizing our superior expertise to highlight others’ incompetence, rendering them dependent and disempowered.
- And a persistent need to be perceived as competent may prevent us from taking the risks that will be essential for our own continued development.
I’m not suggesting that competence is irrelevant, but beyond a certain point it’s table stakes. It’s a necessary step on the path to mastery, and it won’t get us there. The key is to recognize when we’re clinging to our competence out of fear--that’s the signal to let it go. Once we take that step, we can begin to identify other sources of power and show up differently in a senior role:
- Create greater value by doing less and leading more.
- Teach by helping others discover their own power and act independently.
- Take bigger risks, learn from our mistakes, and keep growing in the process.
For Further Reading
How to Scale: Do Less, Lead More
McClelland and Burnham on Power and Management
Inspired by my friend Sage Cohen.
Photo by Security.
