During my career as a clinical educator for an international medical device manufacturer, I had the opportunity to sit in on a lecture moderated by Dr. Paul Friday, Chief of Clinical Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. His topic was on Power and Authority. The audience was composed of clinical practitioners who specialized in cardiac surgery; Perfusionists, nurses, surgical technologists, and residents.
The lecture hall seating was a circular arrangement. There were 8 chairs positioned as the “inner circle” where Dr. Friday would present. The host for the lecture invited anyone who wanted to be a part of the discussion to take a seat in the inner circle. Gradually, all eight chairs were occupied.
The host then greeted the audience, introduced Dr. Friday’s professional title and credentials, and then announced he would be moderating the discussion on Power and Authority.
Dr. Friday came in, took the seat in the middle of the inner circle, leaned into the microphone, and said, “Okay … let’s begin. What is power?” Then, he leaned back in his chair – and waited. One person from the inner circle decided to answer the question and said, “Power is having influence or control over others.” Dr. Friday didn’t reply, respond, or even move. He just sat there.
Another inner circle participant decided to provide another perspective and said, “I think power is what one yields when they are in charge.”
Again, Dr. Friday just sat there.
Another person gave her answer. Dr. Friday continued to just sit – impassive.
By then, the others in the inner circle were looking left and right amongst themselves, perplexed, wondering – what they were supposed to do.
Observing from the audience, I was also wondering, This is weird. What is going on here?
I recall hearing one of the inner circle members quietly suggest, “Maybe we are supposed to keep guessing until we hit the right answer.”
This went on for about ten minutes. Then, Dr. Friday leaned into the microphone, said, “You don’t seem to understand,” and left the lecture hall.
You can imagine the confusion and assorted comments. “What was that all about?” “Did we say something wrong?” “I don’t get what’s happening here.” “Did I miss something?” “Maybe he had to go to the bathroom really badly.”
A few moments later, Dr. Friday returned, leaned into the microphone and said, “Let’s try again. What is power?”
This elicited a few groans from the audience. The inner circle members were obviously perplexed, but they forged ahead. One said, “Being a perfusionist, I know what not having power feels like.” That brought a chuckle from attendees. But again, Dr. Friday just sat there.
After another ten minutes he said, okay, let’s turn up the lights, stop the cameras, and begin this session. He turned to the inner circle and thanked them for being the brave ones to sit through this. Then he asked, “Tell me your feelings about this session.”
“One person said, “You made us feel really uncomfortable.”
Dr. Friday asked, “How so? All I was did was just sit here, listening. How does that make you uncomfortable?”
“I thought you were going to give a presentation.”
He replied, “Actually, you may recall, I was invited to moderate a discussion. You assumed I was going to be the presenter. When I didn’t act according to your expectation, you felt uncomfortable. You fidgeted, some even tried humor to relieve the tension. Power wasn’t something I wielded; it’s something you gave to me.”
Another person replied, “We didn’t know what we were supposed to do!”
Dr. Friday then said, “That is exactly a key point about power and authority. It’s referred to as the Social Contract Theory. For your cardiac surgeon to be the leader, it’s not about his or her title. Their general influence is given to them by the team through your willingness to trust that person’s expertise and collaborate in a successful surgical procedure. If, or when things go awry, and the leader doesn’t establish the authority you expect from them and take control, the power you expect them to wield naturally dissolves.”
