Page 30 - Harnessing the Strengths

2

FROM A POWER

TO A SERVICE MODEL

he world is changing at top speed. This is also true
about work relationships, which in turn has con-
Tsequences for views of leadership. The dominant
leadership model—the power model—is fi zzling out. There
is a cry for a serious alternative. 1
When talking about leadership, most companies use
the power model. According to this model, leadership is all
about the attainment, exercise, and retention of power. The
boss has only one goal: to ensure that people do what he or
she wants. It consists mostly of handy strategies to win. Eth-
ics and morals do not come into the vocabulary or, at best,
do so only as an afterthought.
The problem with the power model is that power has
become a goal in and unto itself and that the attainment
of power depends on choosing one or another opposite. In
this model, power is a scarce good and invites competition.
The person that fi nally has it needs to defend it tooth and
nail. Sharing is completely out of the question. This results
in confl icts between various groups and factions. The idea
that leadership is about beating the other group sits deep in
old management ideology. This is a shame because internal
fi ghting is a waste of precious energy; rivalry and infi ght-

13