#davesdailychallenge (52): The Funny Thing About Power. I received my undergraduate education at the University of California at Davis. During my time there I had an extraordinary professor named John Vohs. Professor Vohs taught me many things but without a doubt one of the most lasting lessons I ever learned from him was that, in many circumstances, power is granted. There are many different types of power from an academic standpoint but among them are legitimate power (think police officer), expert power (think astro-physicist), and reward power (anyone with the ability give out rewards). Legitimate power is not necessarily granted as if you tell a cop, or any other legitimately (legally) established authority, that you don’t grant them any power over you and you refuse to do what they say that doesn’t lessen their authority in the slightest. They can still arrest you. They can still exercise their power regardless of what you might think about it. The funny thing about power, however, is that often times we grant huge amounts of power to people and structures in our lives that severely limit us or change our experiences for the worse. Many of us in leadership positions also take our power for granted thinking that a level of care, trust, and responsibility in its use is no longer necessary. I challenge you to realize the structures and people in your life that you are actively granting power over you and do a self-audit as to whether or not it’s right. If you are a leader of people, always remember that leadership is a sacred trust between people and the most rewarding, long-lasting, and beneficial form of leadership is one where others WANT to follow you instead of being forced into it. Power is a delicate thing and when it is granted to you it needs to be exercised with great care.