How Will You Lead Your Class? Power or Influence?
Didi is a familiar company in China. The easiest comparison is to Uber. One requests a pickup with a destination, the type of vehicle, then, away one goes. Frankly, it is a great application. We use it religiously when we need to go anywhere in China.
On one occasion, we were returning home from the airport after a vacation. We had requested a Didi, which arrived in a timely manner as always. The driver spoke no English, which was also common. Leaving the airport parking lot, another driver cut in front of our vehicle. Our driver remained calm, but grumbled under his breath.
The other vehicle, in cutting in front of us, had entered the wrong lane to leave. He needed to be in the other lane, which became plainly obvious to us very quickly. There was nothing I could do, I was just the passenger. The driver, grumbled a bit more and said a few words that were very likely directed towards the lack of intelligence of the driver in front of us, then motioned that he was getting out of the car.
I didn’t realize how tall our driver was until he stood up next to our vehicle, put on his hat, and started to move towards the other vehicle. He walked foward with purpose and tapped on the window. There was the obvious jerking motion from the driver in the next vehicle as someone tapped on the window. After a bit of discussion and pointing, the driver ahead of us started to back up and move out of our way, with the assistance of our driver. Our driver then, strode back to the car, pointed at the car, and said something about us going, and drove on and took us home.
In this situation, this driver could have easily used a position of power to make the other driver move. He could have raised his voice, yelled, made large gestures, or any number of other options that would have shown he was in control. Instead, he calmly, and with purpose and intent, got the attention of the other driver and encouraged him to move out of the way so people could pass. He used a position of influence, which was backed up by his position of authority, to encourage the driver to move.
When our driver put on his hat, it was at that point I noticed that it was either a hat of military personnel or police. He was not our standard driver, instead, he was a man who commanded respect because he was in uniform. I imagine that he could very easily have brought legal authorities to bear on this driver if he chose to, but instead, he simply approached the vehicle from behind, calmly got the drivers attention, then asked him to move. Yes, the uniform would have increased the presence of his power, but there was not appearance or indication that it was part of the situation.
As educators, we walk into our classrooms in a position with power backing it. We are the teacher, and our power comes from the rules and policies of the school. How we use it within our classrooms is critically important for the culture we want to build in our space. We also hold a greater amount of influence, because of who we are as educators, our personality, and the relationships we build with our students.
Like this officer who asked the driver to move, we too are backed by our position of authority and the power of the school. However, we must choose when to use it, and use it wisely. Educators throughout history have struggled with this and we can all cite examples of teachers we know, or had as students, who exercised their use of power over influence in our space.
As we work to establish positive relationships in our classroom, we need to consider how we can build an influence-based space over a power-based space. We want our students to make the best choices because they choose to. At least, this is the goal of great educators, that students choose to make positive choices on their own rather than us telling them.
We can not lead through influence if we do not have a mindset for it or positive relationships with our group. First, we must keep the following in mind, it is a quote by Michael Grinder and one of my favorites,
“We are in love with the Influence of Power;
We should be in love with the Power of Influence.”
We may have observed examples of power as a method for controlling a classroom in the past. I would suggest that this is an antiquated and outdated model for control within the room. I might go so far as to say it was never effective. Those teachers who ran their class from a standpoint of power are rarely remembered for their great classroom, rather for other, less positive reasons. It is worth noting that, in some cases, managing a classroom from a position of power is some times necessary and effective. Long-term change does not come from a strict authoritarian position of power and control though, but it is useful in short-term situations.
In our space, we might consider a use of a position of power to resolve issues, conflicts, or make dictates that are for the health and safety of our students. Breaking up a fight is one area we do not allow students to choose the outcome, we need to manage from a position of power. If a student is walking onto a busy road, we would not influence their decision to make a better choice, we will use a position of power and issue a command for their safety. A class that is wildly out of control, or even moderately perhaps, would require a teacher starting from a position of power to manage the space first, then shift the instruction style. A massive shift in policy and procedure per school guidelines could require leading from a position of power at first due to the tension and disruption it causes. A staff meeting where decisions need to be made and the group is contentious may require a position of power to lead, rather than influence.
None of the examples above are hard and fast dictates as they all include an asterisk. The asterisk is, what is going on and is a position of power required? This is the part that you can answer and will know if you need to shift from influence to power. Others can offer suggestions, but we can not answer for you and your space.
Within your space, where you have built positive relationships with the students, set clear guidelines and expectations, and the students are familiar with the setting, you can lead with influence. Great teachers make this look so amazingly easy that newer educators struggle with the nuance. Thus, we often get phrases such as “don’t smile until Christmas” as a general management strategy, which causes us to lead through power rather than influence.
If one watches great, or even good teachers, managing a classroom, there is a great amount that happens that is easily missed. The look at a student who is misbehaving as an acknowledgement that it is happening and puts the student on notice to make a change. A hand gesture to a student to stop something or wait for a moment before the teacher calls on them. A palm down with a bit of a shake to indicate quiet. A tone change in the voice from raising at the end to lowering at the end of the sentence indicating seriousness or command. These and so many more are subtle changes in the room that are factors of influence by good educators to manage the space before issues arise. They are planned, practiced, and by design from the beginning of the school year to manage the space so that the teacher can use the position of power sparingly.
I have no doubt that the officer driving us could have immediately contacted the authorities and dealt with the car ahead of us. But he did not need to. He knew that walking up, addressing the situation, and moving the car would be far more effective and helpful in the long-term. He gave the driver choices rather than using his position to require a change.
As educators, we need to recognize that we are influencers first. We have a powerful ability to manage our classroom, once we have established positive relationships with our group and set our expectations. Some of our influence can come from techniques, skills, and how we approach our class, but most of it comes from positive relationships with our students and the tone we set.
Yes, we need to be prepared to become the teacher who commands the presence in the room and is backed by the full authority of the school if needed. But we need to reserve these moments of full use of power for when it is truly needed. Like the officer, if we use our position of power when influence is a far better option, our power is lessened. However, if we use our influence the majority of the time and reduce our moments of leading from a position of power, we maintain positive relationships with our students and respect them as humans.
We have all had, or observed, examples of teachers who yell, scream, make threats, or lead through power. They have reputations or they haunt our memories. We also have teachers that we fondly look back on, and they probably led by influence, built a positive space for students, and we flourished in those spaces because of the way they taught us. Let’s build those spaces for our students in the coming year.
