Power U 72: Coercive Power on the Soccer Field and Beyond

#PowerU 72 - Last episode I said expert power was the only power that matters on a soccer field and while that’s true if the only options are positional and expert, there are other forms of power and one of them has an enormous impact on the field. It belongs to the referee and it’s called coercive power. We grant coercive power legitimacy through a social contract: basically accountability in exchange for authority. It doesn’t just exist on a soccer field. Judges, law enforcement, animal control and parking officers, teachers, unions, elected officials, the media…all have access to coercive power. When coercive power is exercised fairly and transparently we accept it even when it goes against us. When it isn’t exercised that way - or if we think it hasn’t and don’t have access to information to the contrary - we don’t just feel frustrated, we feel like our values are being violated. That’s what’s happening at this World Cup. And Episode 72 is about why the coercive power isn’t the problem but the lack of accountability for it. #PowerU #PowerLiteracy #Leadership #SystemsChange #WorldCup