Influencing with Words: 5 Ways Managers Communicate Power (Part 2)

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Let's enter the Manager Lab. This is part two of five ways leaders communicate power. Your words are as important as your presence. It's by Chris Lipp, published in July 2025, Harvard Business Review. Now, on the first podcast, we talked about two of the ways that leaders communicate power. The first one was focus on action, telling, tell people what to do, not just, you know, facts of the situation, but tell people what you are actually going to do. And the second one was to think big.

Research shows that leaders are perceived as more powerful when they think and they speak more abstractly. So, not just presenting the data and but actually presenting the bigger picture around the data. And again, thinking and talking more abstractly will present you or position you as more powerful. Now, the third one that we'll get into is taking the hit, taking the hit.

And this is really just kind of owning up to your own failures, because we all know blame and deflection signal weakness because they convey that you're incapable of influencing a situation. The fault and therefore the power is with someone else. Owning failure signals power, not deflecting failure. When we take responsibility, we signal our ability to fix the problem and better manage future scenarios. So last year, 2024, there was a huge issue with a company called CrowdStrike.

They had a faulty software update led to widespread IT disruptions. And the CEO came out and said, I want to sincerely, sincerely apologize directly to all of you for today's outage. All of CrowdStrike understands the gravity and impact of the situation. We quickly identified the issue and deployed a fix.

And that prompt ownership of that situation and transition to corrective action showcased very strong leadership and helped defuse any further backlash of that situation. The fourth power move is to assess others. Studies show that powerful people don't necessarily aim to impress, they aim to assess. In business, the person with more power evaluates the person with less power.

Those who feel they have a strong position in negotiations ask more questions to learn whether the other person is going to be valuable to them. Conversely, those in weaker positions aim to try to prove themselves. And trying to prove yourself is the low-power behavior. To convey power, ask questions when you're in meetings or for your audience or to your audience.

For example, the article talks about an executive candidate in an interview might, after answering a few questions, demonstrate their value to the organization by turning the tables on the interviewers and asking questions like, well, how does leadership support innovation here? What's the long-term vision for this role? Things like that. So it's a very power move to come in and ask very good questions.

That can vet the other party and signal confidence and power over your choices, balancing out the power dynamic.

Curiosity here is your superpower. The aim is not arrogance. It's not dominance. The aim is to convey respect for your own goals by taking the initiative and asking questions of others. The last idea here is to direct the spotlight. And this happens a lot of times in meetings. Those are public venues during which status dynamics are on display and people are jockeying for positions. So how you show up within your team is how the team will actually see you.

You might think the best way to show up is to add your own perspectives and value, but that's not always exactly right. The most powerful person in a room doesn't stand in the spotlight. They control it. They are the ringleaders. They set the agenda. They moderate discussions. They distill ideas into action. So, for example, the article talks about opening a strategy meeting with the following statement.

Let's start by reviewing last quarter's performance to establish context, then move into key challenges and opportunities so that we can end with a clear plan of action. And then as the meeting unfolds, you can ask more explanatory or exploratory questions that encourage meaningful contribution from everyone. Like, if we had to make a decision today, what would each of you recommend? Let other people deliberate and then synthesize their input into a decisive plan.

The aim of the ringleader is not really to speak the most, but to steer the most.

And doing this by focusing on the big picture, asking questions, and then organizing finally that input into actionable next steps. Power shows up when you speak. Research shows that when you use these techniques in the article, you'll be seen as a stronger, more compelling leader. And I hope that this article has helped you think about how to be more powerful when you communicate. And until next time we meet in the manager lab, do good work.