Ning Xiangdong's "Management" course notes (34)

Lecture 027: Beyond the position - the way to deepen leadership!

As mentioned in the last class, although the power given by the position can also influence others, it is not the most brilliant leadership. We must learn to transcend the power of the position and build a system based on "expert ability" and The influence of "charm" (also called "reference power" in management science). Because these two kinds of influence are the most brilliant leadership.

Let me first ask a question: Would you rather have an obedient subordinate or a subordinate who follows? Needless to say, I can guess your answer. You must want a subordinate who will follow you. So, today we will tell you through comparison, why would someone be willing to follow you?

1. Economic exchange and social exchange

Among position power, there is a type called "reward power", which is to influence others by giving money to them. We often say that money can communicate with God. In fact, money can also communicate with subordinates. As long as you give enough money, your subordinates will be completely at your mercy. Together, you and money can exert influence on your subordinates. If you have enough money, this influence can be quite large.

However, the biggest problem with using money to influence people is that when you have money, you are influential; when the money is gone, your subordinates will lose their motivation. All behaviors of subordinates are "obedient" in nature, and "obedience" is done for the sake of money.

Why? Because your influence is largely a transaction with your subordinates, and it is an economic exchange. Economic exchange pays attention to equivalent exchange and equality: no matter how much you pay, how much work you do, I will do whatever you ask me to do. As for whether the work process meets the career development needs of your subordinates, you don't need to consider it. Your subordinates will judge it themselves. If it is not cost-effective, they will stop working. Even if you sign a long-term contract, it is of no use. The interested party will tear up the contract at any time. This is called "opportunistic behavior" in economics. Therefore, the influence based on economic exchange often cannot last long. If the money is there, there will be something; if the money goes away, there will be nothing.

What if it is not an economic exchange, but a social exchange? The result will be much better. Even if your subordinates have no money, they will follow you and they will share the joys and sorrows with you. This is called "following".

What is "social exchange"? This is how the teacher understands social exchange: For example, when I go to buy something, it is a process of economic exchange. But if I buy something from a vendor with a smiling face, economic exchange, plus that smiling face every time, It constitutes social exchange. Although I didn't pay for that extra smile, it was valuable in my heart.

Sociologist Blau calls this "value equivalence."

Different people have different prices for this smiling face. However, no matter what, this smiley face is definitely of positive value in your mind. The following behavior of subordinates actually comes from this positive value. Therefore, good leaders will use this logic to develop the highest level of leadership and let their subordinates "follow" them.

It should be emphasized here that all subordinates have a mental account of social exchange with the leader. This account is a savings account, not a credit account. The more "positive value" you save at ordinary times, the more rewards you will get at critical moments; if you don't save at critical moments, if you overdraw like a credit card first, no one will help you.

In the first module, I dedicated a lecture to talk about the "principle of reciprocity" in social exchange, which is to pave the way for the management issues that will be discussed later. A good manager must be good at using the power that his position brings to you, and pay attention to forming real social exchanges, so that subordinates can feel the extra benefits, which are those smiling faces. Especially in the era of knowledge economy, leaders must know what to expect from people who want to steadily increase their income while working hard to realize their dreams.

2. Expert power

Now, let’s analyze “expert power” and “reference power” in depth, because they are both important sources of powerful influence that transcend position power.

Let’s talk about expert power first. Expert power, simply put, is a business ability, which is the influence formed by an individual's professional knowledge and technology in a specific field.

To put it bluntly, it is because you are a great person and everyone believes in you and is willing to follow you and listen to your orders.

Why do teachers object to "the legend of Garcia that the boss goes to play ball every day and wants his employees to be able to perform"? It is because that kind of execution thinking is essentially anti-management. You know, after Google went public, it hired a full-time CEO, but for a few years, Page has been following the CEO silently, often asking questions, some of which were silly, so everyone gave him a nickname, Called "Silly Peppa Pig". In fact, Page is stealing skills and learning management, hoping that one day he can take over the big job. Page knew that influence could only be achieved through expertise.

3. Reference power

After talking about expert ability, let’s talk about “reference power”, which is the influence caused by personal charm. You must have met some people, and as long as you listened to what they said, you made up your mind to do something with them. You will be influenced by his personal qualities such as confidence, persistence, concentration and selflessness, and become a sincere follower. That's what "charm" does. In the past ten years, many papers in the field of leadership have been about "charismatic leadership". Sometimes it even gives people a misunderstanding that only "charismatic leadership" can achieve great things.

Carefully savor the story of Ning Gaoning's efforts to protect his subordinates, and you can feel the charm of Ning Gaoning's courage to "take responsibility" from Huang Tieying's memories. Would you like to work with a leader who always puts the blame on his subordinates when something goes wrong? Or would you rather work with a leader who dares to take responsibility? I think the answer is self-explanatory. I read a sentence a few days ago: It is better to stand by your subordinates when something goes wrong than to have dinner with them frequently. It talks about how to create a sense of trust among subordinates through taking responsibility.

4. Managers and Leaders

Through the previous two lessons, what I want to tell you is that a good leader is not a simple manager. The realm of a leader is higher than High managers. When you become a person in charge, manage a bunch of things, and have your own soldiers, you are still just a manager. Your next goal is to become a leader. As a manager, your power is given to you by the organization. You can only use the legal power, reward power, and punishment power within the organization to complete your work tasks. It is difficult to develop real leadership by relying solely on these powers.

And if you transcend the self-positioning of managers and enter into the hearts of your subordinates through the display of professional abilities and charm, you will transcend a simple manager and become an outstanding one. leader. If you have leadership skills, you will be great.

The teacher’s personal experience tells me that there are many ways to display charm, but the core is to have a pattern, to know how to adapt to the current situation, and to consider others when encountering difficulties. Feng Xiaogang has a saying that I particularly like. He said: The greatest deception is called sincerity.

Thoughts after class

After today’s class, I have prepared some reading materials for you, hoping to inspire you. After class, please take some time to study your leader to see if he is a leader or a manager. Then, please make a list for yourself and think about what if one day you sit in that position. What should you do in your position to build your own leadership? We prepared in silence.