'Power' can be good when wielded with respect and when it's inclusive, shared, and distributed, says Rometty the former chairman and CEO of IBM, the co-chair of OneTen and author of Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World
Q. What’s the perspective you are trying to build when you use the term ‘good’ power?
Yes, power is often perceived negatively—in fact, I never really liked or used the word. But, as I reflected on my experiences, I realised that power doesn’t have to be bad to be potent. Power is actually necessary to make things better—be it for ourselves, our organisations, or for society.
I define “good power” as driving meaningful change in positive ways. A core idea of “good power” is that how we try to make things better is as important as what we strive to achieve, and in the book, I share five principal ways to lead with good power.