TFN#52: 🪜What’s your power distance?

Also, I’m thinking of including some new features in our letters:

And oh yes, write back to me with your suggestions and recommendations!

So, today I wanted to touch on one of my favourite topics in the workplace: power distance.
But before that, this clip and a story:

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In this 2-minute clip, you can see Anatoly Dyatlov — the BOSS — making the decision to raise the power of the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor against the SOP. He was deputy chief engineer for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant when the Chernobyl disaster took place on the night of 26th April 1986.

Aleksandr Akimov, the man wearing spectacles, asking for a written order, was the supervisor, his reportee.

We can see Dyatlov silenced Akimov and other staff members in the Nuclear Control room. And the chain of decisions led to the disaster after a few minutes.

In other words

We can say that Dyatlov acted as if he had more power than the rest of the people. So, Dyatlov was very close to power.

While others felt they were not as much in power as Dyatlov. Hence, they were far from the power.

Imagine if the others felt as close to power as Dyatlov did

Then the history would have been different.
Akimov and the staff would have protested Dyatlov’s order up to the point where he would have to back off.
But that is not how some fields of work operate. For example, the majority of crucial institutions such as Aviation, the Army, Nuclear Power Plants, and Political Parties: demand that most of their employees do not question a chain of command. Otherwise, there would be chaos. And no progress.

Power Distance Index

Hofstede, a Dutch psychologist, 1960-70, found a pattern of difference in the power distance of people in different countries. He represented them under Power Distance Index (PDI).

PDI shows how much people in places like schools, families or offices think it’s normal that not everyone has the same amount of power.

If you look at the full PDI scores, you will see that Austria has a PDI score of 11. Malaysia has 104. This means average people in Malaysia are much more likely to say yes and carry out the orders as their boss asks them. But in Austria, they’re more likely to question and disagree.

What does that mean for us?

We can ignore country-wise PDI scores now. Because most of us do not work in multi-country teams.
However, the concept of power distance is helpful in two ways: to find a matching workplace and to hire the right talent.

Let’s see what I mean.

Finding a matching workplace or hiring the right talent

Sometimes, we come across stories about our friends, colleagues or new joiners. Even with the right degrees, experience and everything, it is very difficult for them to work in a specific department or organization. And they have to prematurely leave.
HR may say that “they were not a good match.”
This match criteria may include many things, but one of the main factors is their power distance.

If the department manager or the nature of work required someone who could say “yes” to everything and we hired someone who was a low power distance person, it would be a bad match. The conflicts would be intolerable. Because the new hire will either challenge the decisions or resent the manager.

On the other hand, if a CEO needed an advisor and he would say “yes” to everything, there wouldn’t be any conflicts, but the CEO would discharge him sooner rather than later. Because the role of the advisor is to ask questions and challenge the decisions.

So, what’s the ideal power distance?

There is none.
Most of us, who are past our formative years, are doomed.
Because our inclinations, our nature, and our work styles are almost solidified now. (yes, “almost”, because if you remember my letter from 6 months back — Why I’m convinced we can change our brain tissues, in that piece, we discussed that Neuroplasticity is a real thing.)

So, the best way is to introspect and ask ourselves:

• Do I feel more at ease in a workplace where a few people make the important decisions without my explicit involvement, or do I prefer being part of the decision-making process from the outset?
• How do I respond to authority at work?
• Am I comfortable strictly following directions, or do I prefer having the freedom to question and provide input on decisions?
• What type of leadership helps me perform my best? Do I thrive under leaders who give clear directions, or do I prefer leaders who encourage autonomy and input from their team?

Similarly, if you’re hiring someone, consider questions accordingly.

Once we know how much power we prefer having in our workplace, then putting ourselves in matching organizations or work conditions is the best thing we can do. When it comes to our inherent preferences, I don’t believe in going against the grain. It is counter-productive.

In any case, I wish work advertisements mentioned the required power distance for the job role. That would save so much time and effort!

What do you think about power distance?
Have you thought about this before?
​Hit Reply and share with me.

Reads of the week:

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Did you know 52! (52 factorial) is beyond the scope of our universe?

If I handed over all 52 letters to everyone in the world and asked them to order them as they find fit, every stack would be unique! It is baffling once you understand this.