Are You Motivated by Power on the Job?

Watch any dramatic television program or movie about the corporate world and you would assume that anyone who would go into business is strongly motivated by power. You would assume, based on this dramatic "stories" that to survive and excel in the business world means to be driven and obsessed with power. While this is definitely NOT the case in the real world, it is important to know whether or not you are hoping to achieve power and control in your career, and to understand how you can use this to motivate yourself in a healthy way.

There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to have power, control and influence in your career. Unless you want to make other people suffer, control their lives or use your "power" for evil, wanting to achieve power and influence in a particular job or company is not a terrible thing. Many individuals want to be more powerful so that they can make more money, influence an industry, solve bigger problems or make a major difference in a particular area. These are not unworthy motivations. How you go about trying to achieve more power and influence, however, can be an issue.

Try to remember that with increased power and influence, comes increased responsibility. Often this means that you will need to supervise more people, be in charge of larger budgets or departments or be held accountable and responsible in various other "high level" ways. A person who is motivated by more power and influence needs to be ready to take on the work level and the higher level of accountability that comes with all this power.

Watch out for wanting to control other people. Having influence and taking responsibility is one thing, wanting to hold other people's fate in your hands in order to feel powerful and in control can actual signal bigger personal problems. Try to keep the motivation for more power in perspective and keep your own desire to "be in control" in check. If you can stay focused on the overall team and keep your attention on what is best for everyone, you may be able to use your increased "power" for good.