Early morning with no other cars or traffic officers in site, I was sitting and staring at the red traffic light. I was waiting for it to turn green so that I could continue my journey. Why would I not skip the red light? It suddenly dawned on me that this is a perfect example of power by permission.
Power is granted to us by others. It cannot be taken. Only in the absence of power, controls have to be instituted. Legitimate power is also known as power by permission.
We see the “power” of the traffic light as legitimate because we know that its job is to keep up safe. Similarly people grant us power when they believe that we have their best interest at heart.
The more power is granted the less controls are required. Intersections with lots of accidents may require cameras and even a Points Man on duty to maintain order. The less power is granted, the more controls are required. This situation plays itself out in organisations, where we keep on adding controls because we lack legitimate power, i.e. Power by Permission.
The society we have created is all about getting as much as possible, as quickly as possible. Market share, margin growth is all important. This obviously leads only to entitlement and greed. This is not the breeding ground for legitimate power. When we behave as Takers (from the other) we cannot be seen as acting in the best interest of others. This then disqualifies the Taker from the role of having legitimate power. In such a Taker (read consumer) society, Controls are all that can remain, with all it “Taker “members (read consumers) therefor looking for ways to get around the controls.
More controls and legislation is not going fix the problem. We have to adjust our mind-set on how we conduct our lives at work and at home. The only “control” you have is to control your own mind-set. We cannot change the world, we can only change ourselves. You are the project of your life.