Are You Subject to Power Plays? 2040's Ideas and Innovations Newsletter, Issue 135

Issue 135, November 16, 2023

As mindful observers of today’s national and global discourse, we would be among the first to remind you that we are all both a witness and a victim to power positioning among politicians, world leaders, global business moguls, and everyday bullies.  And as is often the case, when bad behavior is prevalent on the world stage, it tends to trickle down to the local level in organizations, relationships, families, and institutions.  It is as though individuals have permission to mimic bad behavior emulating once well-respected public personalities.

With this in mind, we are going to review a phenomenon that often occurs within dysfunctional organizations. We wrote extensively about power positioning in The Truth About Transformation and are updating our findings lurking in the shadow of global events.

Power Positioning

For starters, let’s define exactly what we mean by power positioning. Positional power is the type of power you have when you have a specific rank…