What Is Your Social Power?

Written by:  Luana Yosikaha-Scanlan, MBA, PRIME Consultant

In January 2008 the Taliban took control over an Afghan town in the Swat Valley, home to 11-year-old Malala Yousafzai.   As a girl she was no longer allowed to attend school.  In 2012 Malala began publicly speaking against the Taliban on behalf of girls who wanted an education.  In retaliation, a Taliban gunman boarded Malala’s school bus one morning and shot her in the side of her head.  She woke up 10 days later in a hospital in England and spent the next two years continuing her fight for female rights to education on a global scale using the internet.  In 2014 she earned the Nobel Peace Prize, and started Malala’s Fund to fight for education and equality. In 2020 she graduated from Oxford University – triumphant over the Taliban’s attempt to keep her in dark, uneducated submission.
 
The renowned expert in human emotion, psychology professor, Dacher Keltner, of UC Berkeley defines power as the ‘capacity to make a difference in the world’ by focusing on the needs and desires of others through empathy, reciprocity, gratitude, and telling compelling stories or ‘truths.’ (Keltner, 2016[1])
Malala’s story illustrates several sources of power and their negative and positive impacts: fear and violence used by the Taliban to coerce Malala into submission (negative) was not enough to quell her resilience and the power of knowledge (positive).  Additionally, hers is a personal ‘enduring power’. 
Enduring power unites people towards positive change by focusing on others and prioritizing their interests.  Keltner describes the best use of power as that which is in service to others. 
Malala funneled her inner power into social power – the potential for social influence. Social influence is an effect, an actual change in the beliefs, attitudes, behavior, emotions, and values of someone because of the actions of another. For example, in society wealth draws ‘reward’ and ‘referent’ powers on its ability to shape the beliefs of those less wealthy, fame draws its ‘referent’ social power from admiration and envy, while laws are codified ‘legitimate’ sources of power. Today, as a result of social media, those with the power to influence others may not be wealthy, famous, or have a law degree but can grow the social power to influence others.

The person who is the source of influence is commonly known as an influencing agent or in popular media terms – ‘social influencer’. Influencers like Malala have social power with which they influence their viewing, listening, following, and donating target audience.
How do you develop social power?

1. Build charisma
2. Strengthen your communication skills
3. Strengthen your nonverbal communication skills
4. Acquire expertise to support your call to action
5. Build your social network.

 
Power is present in all relationships which is why it must be properly managed and focused to ensure it produces positive impacts that are valued by society. Michel Foucault, a French philosopher and historian, believed that power is a necessary, productive and positive force in society (Gaventa, 1982[1]).  Empathy, giving, gratitude, and sharing authentic experiences can keep the negative powers in check.
1. Empathy—We express empathy when we focus on what other people are feeling. This promotes a sense of connection and trust with others.
2. Giving—Giving, without the expectation of receiving something in return, is a trust builder and a way of providing reward and recognition to others that promotes goodwill.
3. Gratitude—Gratitude is the feeling of appreciation we have for things that are given us:  an experience, a person, an opportunity, or a thing. Expression of gratitude promotes social bonding.
4. Authentic stories —Malala used the power of her story to communicate important truths and unite people in working toward a common goal: education for girls. Stories enhance the interests of others and help us interpret the events going on around us. Stories bring us together and foster the sharing of power.
 
Power is often perceived as attempts at self-interest and exerting dominance over others. But as Malala’s experience demonstrates, you can develop and use power in a way that allows you to influence others to make a positive difference in the world.
 
There are 3 benefits of understanding and cultivating your social power:
1 – to better understand why you’re influenced and whether you want to accept that;
2 – recognize your own sources of power and improve upon these skills to have a positive influence on the world;
3 – to build your leadership skills by developing your own, positive sources of power.
 
So, what do you want your social power to be? And, how will you use it?


 [1] Keltner, D. (2016) The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence. NY:Penguin Press.  [2] Gaventa, J. (1982). Power and powerlessness Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley. Champaign:Univ. of IL Press.




[1] Keltner, D. (2016) The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence. NY:Penguin Press.