The 3 Types of Power Inside Every Org

Let’s Get Real.

Every org runs on power.
But most teams rely on the wrong kind.

Not the kind that fuels momentum.
Not the kind that builds trust.
Not the kind that turns ideas into motion.

That mismatch is why your top talent leaves,
why innovation flatlines,
and why your “alignment” meetings feel more like maintenance than momentum.

The 3 Types of Power (And What They Actually Do)

1. Positional Power

What it is: Authority based on title or role
Common in: Traditional hierarchies, waterfall orgs
Power source: Compliance
Default tools: Approvals, policies, mandates

Strategic Risk:

• Creates bottlenecks

• Slows experimentation

• Discourages dissent

Tactical Signs:

• Team waits for decisions instead of moving

• Good ideas stall for “visibility”

• Innovation needs a steering committee to breathe

2. Political Power

What it is: Influence through relationships, alliances, and narrative control
Common in: Matrixed orgs, legacy orgs with strong internal silos
Power source: Access
Default tools: Backchannels, consensus-building, soft power

Strategic Risk:

• Invisible gatekeeping

• High variance in velocity (depends on who’s involved)

• Hidden decision-makers derail clarity

Tactical Signs:

• Projects succeed or fail based on who is in the room

• Feedback loops are filtered for optics, not truth

• Trust is siloed

3. Energetic Power

What it is: The invisible but unmistakable ability to generate clarity, momentum, and action
Common in: High-growth teams, cross-functional tiger teams, founder-led orgs
Power source: Value creation and presence
Default tools: Execution, curiosity, and courage

Strategic Advantage:

• Catalyzes movement

• Fills clarity gaps without waiting for permission

• Aligns others through energy, not authority

Tactical Signs:

• They ask better questions

• They start things others hesitate on

• Teams move faster when they’re involved

Fractional Strategy Playbook: Rebalancing Power

This is your 3-week internal activation plan. No org chart required.

Week 1 – Run a Power Mapping Session

Objective: Identify your org’s dominant and missing power types

How to do it:

• In your next leadership/team sync, draw a 3-column whiteboard (Positional | Political | Energetic)

• List key people by the type of power they actually hold, not what their title says

• Have each team member answer:

  • Who drives decisions?

  • Who do people go to when things are stuck?

  • Who brings momentum into a room?

Expected Outcomes:

• Visibility into hidden influencers

• Early signs of imbalance

• Awareness of underutilized energetic talent

Week 2 – Shift How You Staff and Sponsor

Objective: Realign power to build momentum, not just structure

Tactics:

• Add at least one energetic power-holder to every major initiative

• Shift meeting ownership from positional leaders to those closest to the problem

• Give decision rights on one initiative to the person with executional energy instead of the most senior title

Expected Outcomes:

• Less friction between strategy and execution

• Faster iteration loops

• Higher morale and trust across functions

Week 3 – Install a Power Portfolio Review

Objective: Operationalize the balance of power into how you manage people, not just projects

How to do it:

• Create a monthly “Power Portfolio” check-in with your leadership team

• For every strategic priority, review:

  • Who’s holding each type of power?

  • Are we over-indexed on title or politics?

  • Is energetic power protected, supported, or being drained?

Expected Outcomes:

• Strategic clarity on power dynamics

• Ability to prevent burnout of your best catalysts

• A new layer of leadership development: teaching how to hold and grow energetic power

Discovery Drill: Power Audit in 5 Minutes

Ask your team:

1. What type of power moves this org forward the most right now?

2. Which type is holding us back the most?

3. Who’s carrying energetic power that isn’t in a formal leadership seat?

4. What would change if that person ran point on our next big decision?

Catalyst Question for the ELT

“Are we organizing around control… or capability?”

Because capability creates velocity.
And velocity compounds.

Action Step

Grab a whiteboard.
Map the power in your org.
Staff your next project based on momentum, not hierarchy.

Let your energetic people lead and track what happens next.

Stay Uncomfortable.

The future isn’t built by those with the most authority.
It’s built by those who move with the most energy, across the most resistance, without asking for permission.

Find those people.
Support them.
And whatever you do, don’t drown them in process.

What to Do Next

Here’s how to turn this drop into motion:

✅ Map the power on your team this week
✅ Invite one energetic operator into your next strategic decision
✅ Run a 5-minute Power Audit before your next project kickoff
✅ Start tracking energy, not just titles, in your org chart

Already doing this? Share what shifted.
Not doing it yet? Forward this drop to someone who should.

Next on Layer8:

DROP 006: “AI Paralysis: When too much signal becomes static”
In Drop 005, we decoded the 3 forms of power shaping modern orgs, and why the loudest voice often isn’t the one steering the ship.

But here’s the deeper problem:

Even those with real power are getting paralyzed.

The signal is too loud.
The noise too seductive.

Drop 006 cuts through the static:
▸ Why AI updates are creating more delay than disruption
▸ The new decision-making model for high-fidelity execution
▸ How to move while others are waiting for GPT-Next

Layer8 isn’t commentary.
It’s a pre-brief for the builders who move first.

Layer8 is a strategy engine disguised as a newsletter.
You don’t just read it, you run with it.
See you next Tuesday.