A520.9.5.RB_Power_Wathen_Sandra

A520.9.5.RB_Power_Wathen_Sandra

Potential to Influence Behavior…

I am very comfortable developing sources of personal influence to gain power.  I have learned over my career that it takes political competence in many cases to influence and it is a skill that has to be developed in most cases. Political clout is needed to be influential, as well as, having a strong power base in their organization. However, power is something that needs to be controlled and balanced.  Otherwise, there can be negative consequences due to lack of power and abuse of power.   

As far as a likeable person, I consider myself one.  I am very open-minded, honest and loyal.  I am loyal to both my employees and my superiors.  Often, my employees come to me and extend their thoughts on how much they appreciate me as being their supervisor.  I truly respect them and continually provide them the social reinforcement that they need in their day-to-day work efforts.  My employees are highly dependable and reliable and I want them to be rewarded fairly; often willing to battle with upper management to obtain recognition on their behalf.  Additionally, I continually make sacrifices to accommodate them.  They also have made sacrifices for me when the tough gets going.  They, as well as I, have similar attributes as they too will do “whatever it takes” to get the job done.  I also try to mentor them so that they can obtain more knowledge and power in their position.  This will allow them career growth and hopefully the opportunity to be competitive in their next endeavors.

Also, in my basic work environment, I consider myself an easy going person who strives to always do my best.  My peers and upper management have high regards for me and have often been willing to take the shirts off their back for me.  I support and make major contributions towards the company’s goals and objectives; often providing recommendations for continuous improvements.  I have earned respect and have been able to influence the company both horizontally and vertically (and vice versa) through the political competence that I have obtained.  The personal attributes and current position characteristics combined, provide me with a wonderful opportunity to display personal influence; strong person aligned to a strong position. There are times that I am sought out by my superiors as the subject matter expert in the field.   I use reason strategies and strive to use open direct approaches when dealing with situations where I need to influence.  I also have learned the importance of having a strong “network” of individuals that are “on my side”.  I often use them to assist me when I have a need to have back-up when going against strong opposition for areas that I need to win the issues at hand.

In summary, I feel very good about the type of person I am and what I have to offer my company and the individuals that support me.  I have had sufficient time in the workforce to acquire political savvy which gives me the ability to make a difference using my developed skills of personal influence and power.