Leverage Weekly #62 - Organizational power
tl;dr - Power in an organization can be used and misused
Organizations are, as I have argued, machines made of people. The org chart is part of the wiring diagram; the people in their positions operate the various different parts of the machine. These machines can run at different speeds, including both faster and slower than their normal baseline. If this view of organizations is correct, a puzzle arises on the topic of organizational power. Understanding organizational power is key to ensuring that it is deployed for the purposes of the organization.
People have an intuitive understanding of power and organizations. Organizations themselves can be powerful, like Amazon or Disney. Within an organization, many positions are powerful, such as President or CEO. The power inside an organization, however, is not simply the power of the organization divided up among the different positions in accordance with the power of the positions. Rather, power within an organization depends on the combination of two factors: the positions in the organization and the people who occupy those positions.
To understand the power of a position, it is necessary to look at how that position functions as part of the larger machine. Generally speaking, the power of a position depends on how much that position can alter what the organization does, either in total or in some specific regard. In one organization, power to influence the budget may matter quite a lot. In another, control over budget may yield little real impact overall. Understanding the power of positions, therefore, requires one to understand the different possible futures for the organization and see how the positions can influence them.
The power of a person is another factor and is quite separate from the power of a position. A person who obtains a powerful position does not thereby become powerful: they must also be able to wield the power of their position. Similarly, a person can be powerful even if they are not in a powerful position. This is because people can influence people and outcomes in ways that are not a part of the organization’s wiring diagram. It is thus important to distinguish between personal power and organizational power, even when simply trying to understand the latter.
Once personal and organizational power begin to be understood, it is possible to look at how power operates within a given organization. The ideal state for an organization is for power to be distributed across the positions and people in such a way that the people can perform the functions of their positions, moving each of the parts of the great machine. Done properly, the power of the people is amplified by the power of their positions, fueling the power of the organization itself.
Frequently, however, power is discussed because it is in some way being misused, leading the organization to function improperly. This can take many forms but, essentially, problems arise when people use their personal power to override the default functioning of the machine. This may simply involve the direct use of personal power, without reference to positions (e.g., a person lies about their own or their teammates’ performance), or the use of personal power in concert with a misuse of organizational power (e.g., a person engages in favoritism in hiring).
The fact that the misuse of power in an organizational context arises from a misuse of personal power leads some to aim for an ideal in which individuals do not have personal power within organizations. In the attempt to prevent the misuse of power, it is possible to make policies and add checks, then make further policies and add more checks. In the limit, this leads to an organization in which no one misuses power because no one has any.
In the case of full automation, the ideal of the organization without power makes sense. In cases where humans will continue to play key roles, however, reducing the people’s power to zero also reduces the organization’s power to zero. Constrain every employee at Amazon or Disney, reduce their power, and one will find the organizations similarly reduced. This is why power within organizations is difficult to manage. It is necessary, if the organization is to have and wield power. But people often misuse their power. The ultimate solution to this problem is complex; a good first step is finding positions for people that match their more productive motivations.
Power in an organization can be used and misused.
The main activity for the Leverage team is still working with the Quantum Biology Institute on quantum biology. There’s been progress on other fronts though, which is important to report. First, Melinda finished editing and has posted “Ten Metaphors for the Mind” to the Leverage YouTube channel. In this video, Geoff describes how the mind can be understood in many ways: as a containment system, as an imaginarium, as layers of sedimentary rock, and so forth. It’s our highest production quality video yet and also a great way to start learning about Leverage’s introspection research.
Oliver has been working on understanding the sociology of science. Drawing on information from our work in quantum biology and Oliver’s own thoughts and research, the institute is approaching having a picture of the problems in the scientific enterprise as a whole. To preview, it looks like a number of factors have led to diminished quality in scientific communication, which then kicks off a downward spiral where research quality is reduced.
Geoff has been thinking about quantum physics, spin, and quantum biological mechanisms that don’t have chemical reactions as intermediaries. This obviously borders on Leverage’s work with QBI and helps him fundraise, though also has an independent component, since it is not a part of QBI’s research plan. It is a revealed empirical fact that is it hard to have Geoff study a topic and not theorize about it.
In terms of direct work with QBI, the Leverage team began their culture presentation series, giving the team at QBI an introduction of the various topics to be covered. Apart from that, Geoff has started preparing resources for another fundraising run, this one specifically in the philanthropic world, Melinda has continued to advise Jen on many topics in operations, and the team prompted QBI to have its quarterly board meeting, in which Clarice stepped down as President and Mike Montague took over.