Power. It is a word that is easily said but hardly offers all the connotation that it possesses at the times when it is most appropriate to do so. Power has several meanings, produces different emotions and is usually interpreted depending on who owns or experiences it.
Power is a double-edged sword. A card that demands knowing how and when to play it, a fleeting experience or a heavy burden. Power can be all that and more, but regardless of what it is, it is an inescapable expression from which it is impossible to escape.
A scene from a Cantinflas film summarizes in a very simple way all the characteristics that have been said previously, in it the character is shown as a lawyer that an elderly client turns to after having used his services to force a marriage with a very young girl. Upon realizing the client Cantinflas wishes to cancel the wedding, he comments: "He married the young woman by proxy and now he wants to divorce because he cannot."
Although the situation present in the film is hilarious, it contains a deep reflection on power and this is precisely that power does not come from the person who holds it, it is given or subtracted by a third party, an entity alien to him. In the case of the film, the client obtained power by law, but the expectations of his partner made him disappear.
Power is exercised or managed. Although they seem similar concepts in practice, they are opposite and generate a completely different impact.
There is talk of "exercise of power" when it is executed without any intervention from third parties, directly and unipersonally: I am the god and my will is done. I am the owner and it does what I say. In this concept there are no buts, no why, there is no room for dissent and much less for contempt, under penalty of being execrated and erased from the face of the earth. As Gilgamesh practiced it.
The management of power refers to the possibility of having help, and even delegating the power to decide who demonstrates having knowledge in a particular field, obviously being in complete agreement with who grants it.
But it was precisely the first concept, "the exercise of power" that became general throughout the world so quickly and with such force that when the second concept was retaken it seemed new and risky. Due to the abuse of the exercise of power, it is generally related to a negative ethical charge: power is bad, power corrupts, power subdues and therefore it must be avoided.
Some scholars and experienced ones argue that, considering its purpose, it is not an attribute of power that it is just, but convenient. Whoever manages power thinks of tomorrow, not today. Whoever manages power is guided by results, consequences, not by procedure or approval. But power must at all times be balanced, since the slightest disproportion makes it illegitimate and therefore, although it is apparently strengthened, its condition is constantly becoming unstable.
Power manifests itself primarily in the action of deciding. The data, the indicators and everything that is obtained as information is what directly affects the way in which a company is governed and, therefore, the results that will be achieved.
What happens when the entrepreneur has no power?
When there is no power there is no reliability, therefore, the absence of power generates a loss of control. Power is an essential attribute for driving.
But it is utopian to imagine a businessman without power, in any case he has power but not what is required to manage but to govern, those around him do not feel identified, reject and abhor him in silence, although they need it, they do not want to be with but they depend on him, so it responds to personal interests and not to the organizational ones that his employees or followers respond to his requests. The power to govern, at the business level comes from wealth, economic capacity, the power to manage resources and people is given by identification, with the coincidence of goals and dreams. Those who lack it submit in order to obtain benefits and, in some cases, although in disagreement with the style,they prefer to endure poorly their stay in an environment of little interest than to endure the rigors of the absence of a job.
Exercising power in an SME can be a lifetime experience, as there is a risk of appearing authoritarian, imposing and arrogant or, if not exercising it, of appearing indecisive, soft or poorly qualified. This situation puts those who have the responsibility to manage it in a true state of anxiety that can affect their ability to observe with amplitude and objectivity what is ultimately essential: their permanence in the market.
Now, exercising power is a double-edged sword, since the evaluation of the results will have all the support or the respect will be completely lost.
SMEs are susceptible, any wrong decision can affect their economy and therefore the people who depend on it. When the exercise of power responds more to whim, the results will not always be as expected and, once the mistakes are repeated, resistance grows and therefore the disagreement of those who have a different vision and "by knowledge" are sure that the decision should be another.
But when decisions have a handle and, although they represent a risk, seem to be the most suitable and adjusted to the scenario, the successes produce respect and a high level of trust and, if they occur, the mistakes are seen as a consequence of exogenous agents that made it impossible to achieve them. control.
However, there is one question to clear: Should the owner of the SME always exercise power or should it be distributed among his people?
The answer may seem simple but at the same time it is extremely complex and demanding: Power must be exercised by those who know, not by whom they suppose. Let me explain: If the owner of the SME knows the process by heart, step by step, detail by detail and his experience, breadth and successes are unquestionable, it is he who must always exercise power, expressed in decision making, generating changes and redirecting the processes, because it is simply qualified enough for it. But if this is not the case, whoever manages the SME must empower those who meet those characteristics, listen and analyze without disqualifying or belittling opinions, they simply lack the basis to do so.
In this case you can resort to intuition, and it is valid, but risk and certainty should not be measured. In this case, the power will be represented in the acceptance or not of the criteria and approaches set out and, although the responsibility falls again on who governs the SME, its influence and level of acceptance will gain strength or lose it according to the degree of success. If the formal leader fails, he will lack authority due to his lack of judgment and the empowered will be called upon when a decision is required.
