What is Power of Leadership?
Power of Leadership is a real time, face to face, non-computer based simulation that helps students understand the value and dangers a leader faces when he or she attempts to use the power that goes with a position. It's for adults, college age students and high school age students. It takes between 2.5 and 5 hours to run depending upon how much debriefing is done. One session can accommodate 10 to 25 participants.
What is the unique feature of Power of Leadership?
The unique feature of the Power of Leadership is the strong emotions it creates in the participants. They are going along in a very fun, casual manner and then, as they realize that they have power or do not have power to change the organization, the simulation becomes very real. Participants become engaged both emotionally and intellectually. This creates very stimulating discussions and often results in very powerful “aha” moments.
Power of Leadership starts out like StarPower but it takes the issue of power much farther. Instead of just being concerned with showing people how seductive power can be and how it feels to be powerless, Power of Leadership also challenges them to figure out ways to imrpove the system.
For many people, power is a taboo topic. As part of a training program a colleague runs, he asks participants to identify the values that are important to them. Not once has acquiring power been chosen as a high value. Yet, if one observes the behavior of these same participants, acquiring power is often the motivating force behind many of their actions. This taboo makes it difficult to talk about, teach or learn about how to lead or how to react to leaders. And, because we're reluctant to talk about power, it often means that myths, misperceptions, incorrect assumptions and various forms of self-deception are allowed to grow unchallenged. Furthermore, power is the quality that makes the role of the leader unique. Trying to talk about and understand leadership without talking about power is like trying to talk about and understand cooking without mentioning heat.
Who is it for and how is it used?
There are four general types of groups within educational institutions and charities that use Power of Leadership:
1. Teachers who want to show their students how important it is to have built-in checks on power. This often includes classes in international relations, business, economics, history, racism, diversity, and sociology.
2. Teachers who want their students to understand the class system and how if affects people within the system.
3. The third group includes teachers of sociology, psychology, political science, economics, history, and business who believe that it is important for their students to learn about the concept of power: how it affects people within a government or other institutions; how it can be used to help or hurt people; and why it is a taboo discussion topic for most people.
4. The fourth group includes those who are interested in teaching young people how to use power to change organizations effectively. These people are generally trying to reach two different types of participants: (1) Participants who are power prone and need to understand the pitfalls of using power and, more important, how to use power effectively. (2) Participants who need to understand that leadership requires much more than just being nice to people or working hard to achieve personal goals.
What happens in Power of Leadership?
Participants inherit a dysfunctional organization in which all of the power resides in the three participants who “earn” their position as Top Performers. The other participants become “Midders” or “Greemers” depending on how many points they earn trading. The organization also has physical and process barriers to communication, unequal opportunities to improve and create wealth, strong in-group/out-group identification, and a way of distributing wealth that creates distrust and allows sabotage.
After participating in one round of the simulation, the participants are given the opportunity to change the rules and change the physical environment to make a more effective, fairer organization. These changes are not easy to make because of the vested interests of the three groups.
How is it sold?
There are two parts to the Power of Leadership; a reusable directors kit and consumable participant materials. In order to run Power of Leadership, you must have a reusable director's kit which includes a tri-board and a briefcase full of materials and then purchase participant materials for each person you are putting through the program. The participant fee allows them to participate in the simulation and provides them with a guide to use in the simulation and during the debriefing. These participant materials can be ordered in any increment. The participant materials are consumable. The materials are always available and usually ship within one business day of receiving an order.
Power of Leadership 
