Power and Influence:  Achieving Your Objectives in Organizations

Kathleen L. McGinn; Elizabeth Long Lingo

Background Note | HBS Case Collection | March 2001 (Revised July 2007)

Power and Influence: Achieving Your Objectives in Organizations

by Kathleen L. McGinn and Elizabeth Long Lingo

Abstract

Power is the potential to mobilize energy. This rather neutral definition does not address the issues of how to exercise power or to what ends. The answers to these questions determine the ultimate value of an individual's power. This note is written to help readers analyze the social system in which their power exists and their influence will be used. Following the guidelines presented, a careful analysis of the social system in which an individual operates, and an assessment of that individual's desires and objectives within the social system, may help maximize the development of power and the effective use of influence.

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks; Value;

Format: Print

23 pages

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McGinn, Kathleen L., and Elizabeth Long Lingo. "Power and Influence: Achieving Your Objectives in Organizations." Harvard Business School Background Note 801-425, March 2001. (Revised July 2007.)

In 2018, Carolyn Childers is preparing to launch Chief, a New York-based peer network for women executives, and must decide whether to bring on a co-founder. After becoming the senior vice president of operations at her previous company, Childers was inspired to build a community that provided mentorship, support, and networking opportunities to women executives. Childers is now preparing to meet with Lindsay Kaplan, a marketing executive who excels at building brand experience. Should Childers bring on Kaplan as a co-founder? If Childers takes on a co-founder, what do they need to agree on?

In 2018, Lindsay Kaplan is preparing to meet with Carolyn Childers about the possibility of co-founding Chief, a New York-based peer network for women executives. Kaplan is currently the vice president of communications and brand engagement at a successful mattress company, and she is happy in her current role. However, she is excited by Childers’s vision for a community of women executives and believes she could bring valuable expertise as Chief builds its brand experience. Should Kaplan join Chief as a co-founder? What do they need to discuss before teaming up?

Chief is a New York-based peer network that provides mentorship, support, networking opportunities, and a sense of community to women executives. Co-founders Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan launched the company in January 2019, and just two months later, Chief has 400 members and a growing waiting list. Now, Childers and Kaplan must determine how aggressively to scale Chief’s model to other cities. How much money should they raise in Chief’s Series A, and when? Which cities should they expand to first? What are the potential risks of moving too fast, and how can they best mitigate them?
For more background on Childers and Kaplan’s decision to found Chief, please see “Chief: Role for Carolyn Childers” (HBS No. 920-019) and “Chief: Role for Lindsay Kaplan” (HBS No. 920-020).

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Power and Influence: Achieving Your Objectives in Organizations

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