Power dynamics leaders need to navigate

The Board becomes stubborn. The Leadership team is not together. The departments are playing their own games. The factory lives in its own world. The head office exudes their power. Yes, the leader has to deal with these dynamics. Yes, the leader has to understand the people who carry weight. Yes, the leader has to choose which power centres to use and which not to. Power play as such has a negative connotation. It is supposed to imply some accumulation of power and playing politics. That route is not the right one. But politics is a reality. Power is a human behaviour. The leader needs to be politically savvy without being political. Every leader needs three basic skills to succeed. He needs to be professionally sound, socially skilled, and politically savvy.

The question is what all is part of political savviness? Organizations are a complex collection of egos, rivalries, insecurities, conflicts, and competitiveness. For a leader to deal with multiple stakeholders at various levels he needs to have an eye for the power seekers, power brokers and power users. The organization is a tug-and-pull between many opposing forces. The leader needs to comprehend the forces that are essential for the organization. He needs to weave a pattern that enmeshes these conflicting forces into a synergistic blend. The Board may not like the company’s human capital investment. The Supply chain head may be at loggerheads with the quality department. The industry association may not want to include your organization in major decision-making of the industry. The media is hostile and supports negative reports about your organization. These are all key power centres that affect your work and the desired results. The leader needs to have a healthy PSC, i.e., political savviness capacity. To assess PSC some questions that need to be asked:

PSC No. 1 - Context of the organization - The leader must understand the history of the organization, and the main architects of the organization and their roles. Who is the power player and how big is his influence on the strategic direction of the company. Assess the culture and traditions. Is the culture geared to enable the achievement of the strategy? Who are the traditional power hoarders? What are the core values of the company? Are the core values really valued or devalued? In many organizations some people may not be very prominent, yet they may wield power. In one of the organizations the old guard fox was present. These are people who have political cleverness. They welcome the newcomer. They are humble. They provide all the information. When the new leader becomes dependent, they breach confidentiality and report to the owners about the new leader. Recognizing the presence of the meek yet foxy guys and dealing with them is a prime power management requirement.

PSC No. 2 - Behaviours in the organization - The leader must gauge the way people behave in the organization. Do people come on time? Do people sit late? Which department is the showstopper? Why is it the showstopper? Is it really performance or prominence? How are people behaving towards each other? How are meetings being carried out? Are people open or closed in expressing their views? In senior team, who is the smooth talker, who is the quiet striker, who is the sudden eruptor, who is the facilitator, and who is the spoiler?

PSC No. 3 - Outsiders with Influence - Is the organization’s exposure to outside factors/people normal or abnormal? Which organizations are important stakeholders? Prioritize them on the power impact. Who is the power broker in them? What is his history? What is the traditional association of the organization with them? Who are the visible and invisible players?

Leaders need to be politically astute to deal with complexity and intrigue of the corporate world. There is a need to assess the influence makers with ethical yet smart intelligence. You may not like them. You may not agree with their power usage, but you need them. The challenge is to engage them without compromising on your principles.

To navigate through the various power structures leaders must

Power Navigation No. 1 - See the unseen organization - There is the Organizational Chart that is visible and then there is an organizational chart that is invisible. The informal channels that exist in an organization sometimes are more influential than the formal ones. There are lobbies that are not on the organizational chart but carry weight. It may be an employee group that feels aggrieved about certain organizational practices. If ignored they will keep creating unrest in the present culture. Once identified, the power leads in this lobby can be assessed to see what needs to be done to stop the negative flow. Some other influencer on the main influencer needs to be identified to manage this irritant. In a company recently a major group was being formed against the policy of the company. They found out that the lead person in the group had a mentor in senior management. They used him effectively to address the issue.

Power navigation No. 2 - Map your power landscape - The invisible organizational chart needs to be drawn. That means designing the power bases in each important constituency. Identifying the main stakeholders in those bases, research is required on the background of main stakeholders. Use social media. Check LinkedIn for professional background. Get a social listening exercise done. That means the comments they make and the comments that are made about them on the social media need to be dissected to understand personality types, interests, mind-sets, etc.

Power navigation No. 3 - Develop a PDP, i.e., Power Diplomacy Plan - Based on this profiling, a plan needs to be devised. If it is a government office you need to get your work through, build and develop an influencing plan. One of the Deputy Commissioners was not issuing an NOC for an important project. The company had done research on his network through their research. They discovered another colleague who was very influential on his career development. He was used strategically to develop the rapport by inviting both for dinner to get the opportunity to get the work done. It only took two interactions to get the work done that was pending for 14 months.

Being politically savvy and being politically manipulative are two different things. Political savviness is about realizing that you need to understand the mental makeup of stakeholders. It is about being authentic and sincere in your efforts to work harder to find bridges that can connect the distant ends. It is complex. It is tricky. It is the art of leadership to make the power centres feel your way is their way. As the American proverb says, “Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026