- “I work for a higher level executive than you do.”
- “My ideas are so much better than hers.”
- “I’m given a higher dollar amount on my corporate card than others.”
There is nothing like a power play to wreak havoc to teams and collaborative efforts! The dictionary defines “power plays” as “a strategic maneuver, as in politics, diplomacy, or business, based on the use or threatened use of power as a means of coercion.”
Setting up power plays is a dead-end attempt to one-up another person. You may win the battle but you will not win the war. Strategically, it just doesn’t make sense long term to ruin your reputation and defy your leadership skills by succumbing to the temptation to one-up.
If someone power plays you, keep your cool. As tactfully as possible, remove yourself from the situation and regroup with a calm spirit and a clear mind. Power plays are a red flag that the individual feels inferior to you and they have to do something to raise their value. In actuality, nothing could be further from the truth but they’ve bought their own lie — now it’s running them.
“No one of us is more important than the rest of us.” ~Ray Kroc
