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How to Wield Power to Improve the Workplace
Podcast

How to Wield Power to Improve the Workplace

Invisibilia

Yowei Shaw, Peter Belmi, Jeffrey Pfeffer and Alejo Gonzalez
NPR, 2022
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Applicable
  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

Many people think of power in the workplace solely in terms of their personal careers. But, the fact is, those who wield power shape their organizations as a whole, for better or worse. In this episode of NPR’s Invisibilia, host Yowei Shaw speaks with business professors Peter Belmi and Jeffrey Pfeffer, and union organizer Alejo Gonzalez, about how traditional paths to power might discourage marginalized individuals from pursuing leadership roles – and why your comfort level with seeking power matters in ways that transcend your individual circumstances.

Take-Aways

  • Employees from marginalized groups, and those with strong ethics, often feel uncomfortable pursuing positions of power.
  • Improve your organizational culture by employing “pro-social” approaches to power, instead of more traditional cutthroat tactics.
  • Give workers opportunities to feel unified and to challenge traditional power dynamics.

About the Podcast

Yowei Shaw is the co-host and editorial lead of NPR’s Invisibilia podcast. Peter Belmi is the Scott C. Beardsley Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Alejo Gonzalez is a lead union organizer with SEIU Local 105 in Denver, Colorado.

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