David McClelland was a prominent psychologist who created the concepts of achievement and needs, three central factors; power, achievement, and affiliation. McClelland's theory of needs tries to explain the process of motivation by analyzing what requirements are and how to approach them. McClelland further explains that everyone has one of the mentioned needs despite their culture, sex, race, or age and is driven by it. Individuals' particular requirements are acquired and formed through time as a result of their life experiences. This essay will discuss the two types of power according to McClelland; personalized and socialized power.
Personalized power is defined as a high need for power. Individuals with high levels of customized power often lack self-control and impulsively use their power (Fang &Liu, 2020). They may sometimes be perceived as rude, harassing, and associated with symbols of power such as fancy cars and big offices. An example of a leader with personalized power is Donald Trump. Over the years, he has been characterized as selfish, misogynistic, and not a quality leader fighting for minority groups. He used his power to advance his business empire, neglecting the American people.
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Socialized power is an effective form of leadership where the leader effectively uses their power, benefiting other people or organizations (Torelli et al., 2020). Such leaders seek power since they understand that they can accomplish more with it. They recognize the need for power distribution and sharing and the importance of everyone having a sense of control over their employment. An example of a leader who practiced socialized power is Nelson Mandela. After coming out of prison, he used his position of influence to unite the people of South Africa in the fight against racism and apartheid rule.
In my life, I use personalized power in my education, as I want to attain high levels of accomplishment. I am ready to use any method possible to ensure I complete my education with the highest distinction possible. I use socialized power in my community projects. I am the leader of a small group that offers community service. I understand that by working together, we can achieve more and change the community around us one step at a time.
In conclusion, McClelland describes the need for power as the urge inside a person to exert control and power over other people and shape and modify their decisions to suit their wants or goals. Individuals with low demand for power may lack the boldness and self-confidence required to organize and manage group activities effectively. Socialized leaders are influential since they work to achieve the larger goal, while personalized leaders push only their interests. Both socialized and personalized power are essential parts of a person's life and should be controlled.
References
Fang, J., & Liu, P. (2020, June). Personalized Power Consumption Control Method for Intelligent Buildings That Perceiving Speech Recognition Identity. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 510, No. 2, p. 022007). IOP Publishing. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/510/2/022007/meta
Torelli, C. J., Leslie, L. M., To, C., & Kim, S. (2020). Power and status across cultures. Current opinion in psychology , 33 , 12-17. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X19300478
