Power: A User's Guide

by Julie Diamond

The path toward ethical, authentic, and effective use of power is illuminated in this comprehensive crash course in developing external authority, navigating high-power roles and responsibilities, and finding personal power. The book combines cutting-edge psychological theory with practical exercises, stories, and examples from the author’s experiences as a leadership coach and consultant to provide readers with the tools and instructions to find their unique map of powers. From bosses to parents, politicians to protesters, power rests in the hands of everyone, everywhere.

Genres: Leadership, Psychology, Nonfiction, Book Club, Management, Business

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Heiki Eesmaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mõned huvitavad mõtted: kuidas positsioon ja staatus ühelt poolt ning küpsus ja enessregulatsioon teiselt poolt on võimu erinevad aspektid. Samal ajal suure osa ajast raamat päriselt ei realiseeri oma potentsiaali. Ebamäärasest sõnastusest osa ilmselt kuulub küll tõlke kraesse. Soovitan küll lugeda kui võim huvitab, kuid elamus on ilmselt parem kui ootusi tagasi hoida ja lugeda ainult huvitacsmaid peatükke.

[Eric Nehrlich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julie Diamond's book is a short and simple guide to power that provided some great insights to me. I loved her framing of the misuse of power as a mystery novel with the triad of means, motive and opportunity. Formal power comes with means and opportunity, as it distorts our perceptions of reality as people cater to us to get access to that power, and inflates our own sense of importance so we feel we deserve more. So to use power responsibly requires having the self awareness to pay attention to our own motives for taking power.

The key insight for me was that power is misused when we fall into a low-power identity while also holding a high-power identity. She gives the example of a Mexican college professor who was beloved by his students, but occasionally lost his temper and berated them when it came to issues of immigration, as those issues brought him back to feeling like a poor and powerless Mexican immigrant, forgetting that he still had the formal power of being the professor in the room. This contrast between internally felt identities and the identities of power explains a lot of the tension I see with leadership, when we expect our leaders to be perfect and noble and then are disappointed when they act like normal imperfect people.

I appreciated her guidelines to using power wisely and recommend this book as a quick introduction to these power dynamics.

[Sabina Peskin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Should have read it when I just started working. However, now is a good-enough moment. Being conscious of our positional power/rank helps us understand the attributes each position holds and how to use them to benefit our business, team, partners, clients, etc.

[Beth Cleland · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books that is pivotal in changing perspective and attitude. An invaluable resource for understanding and analyzing the dynamics of power in personal, societal and career relationships, as well as current political and corporate culture.

[Lindsay Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of practical examples to explain what is a complex topic. Loved the tools. Brilliant.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has such great momentum for learning but became a bit stagnant in the middle. Great exercise about finding your power print, I found it most helpful.

[Amanda Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most helpful book I’ve ever read. I have nothing but a deep appreciation for the work Julie Diamond has put into her career and sharing her findings on power with us.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

The path to power...

Power to do what? Whatever.

And the author knows, he has a PhD. Probably not a PhD in power, but to heck with that! It shows he is a learned man.

"NASA’s high-level managers, under pressure to retain federal funding and stick to their launch deadline, ignored engineers’ warnings of structural defects on the Challenger Space Shuttle and proceeded with the scheduled launch, which resulted in the deaths of seven people."

Not true. But anyway, the documentation is at newspaper article level.

Anyway, good luck on your path to conquering power.

[Dawid Zaraziński · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo dobrze przygotowana i przemyślana książka o władzy – polecam zwłaszcza ludziom biznesu. Z jednej strony pokazuje groźne mechanizmy, w których uczestniczymy kiedy tylko zdobywamy jakąś władzę, z drugiej – radzi jak poznać i wykorzystać osobistą moc.

[Zuzana Reveszova · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is practical and sane, looking at diverse dimensions of power, supporting you to learn how to manage yours. It also serves as a great motivation to delve into more sociological theories of power, especially if you have already some knowledge in pragmatism.

[Maire Forsel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kui ei saa aru, mis võimumängud sinu ümber toimuvad, siis tasub seda raamatut lugeda.