Position is not power, but responsibility (Peter Drucker #QuoteNote 67)

Here is the quote I would like to introduce this time!

As long as people live, they will inevitably grow older. It is unavoidable that you will eventually become 'someone's senior.' Even if you are not a president, executive, or politician, it is important to cherish the mindset that 'Position is not power, but responsibility'.

Who said it

What kind of person is he?

Peter F. Drucker (1909–2005) was an Austrian-born management scholar, management consultant, and author. He is called the 'father of management' and the 'inventor of management,' and he had a profound influence on modern management studies.

Peter Drucker believed that a business is not merely an organization for profit-seeking, but exists to 'create and keep a customer,' and he emphasized social contribution. Even after his death, Drucker's ideas continue to exert influence not only in the field of management but in all areas of work.

Systematization of 'Management'

He is considered the person who systematized the field of management for the first time in human history. It is also said that he was the first to use the term 'management' in a business context.

Perspective as a social ecologist

He called himself a 'social ecologist' and deeply contemplated the relationship between society as a whole and organizations, as well as the role of humans within them. He possessed a sharp insight that allowed him to see the essence of things. He foresaw many changes that would later become reality, such as the arrival of an aging society, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the importance of a knowledge-based society.

Diverse activities

After obtaining a doctorate in law at a university, he worked as a securities analyst and economic journalist before moving to the United States. He taught as a university professor at institutions such as New York University and Claremont Graduate University. He also served as a management consultant for many companies.

Numerous works

Throughout his life, he published 39 books and wrote on a wide range of fields, including not only management but also society, economics, and philosophy. His representative works include 'The Practice of Management' and 'Management.' In Japan, the work 'What If the Female Manager of a High School Baseball Team Read Drucker's 'Management'' became popular, so many people may know Drucker's name through 'MoshiDora.'

Relationship with Japan

He visited Japan frequently and was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Third Class, by the Japanese government in 1966 for his contributions to Japan's economic development and management. He was also a collector of ancient Japanese art.

Power and responsibility

The phrase 'Position is not power, but responsibility' gives the impression of being a warning directed at those in power, such as presidents, executives, or politicians.

However, by interpreting it more deeply, we can see that these are not just words for those in ivory towers, but profound truths that apply to anyone living their life.

Does getting a promotion make you a superior person?

Companies have a hierarchy system to ensure business runs smoothly. It starts with regular employees, then leads to chief, section manager, department manager, and so on.

Generally, when someone gets a title or moves up to a higher position, people often say, 'You've become important.'

It seems that in society, there is an implicit understanding of a pyramid-like class system where a chief is more important than a regular employee, a section manager is more important than a chief, and a department manager is even more so...

However, in reality, it is not necessarily true that someone with a higher position is a better person than someone with a lower position.

A job title is merely a limited 'label' that only holds meaning within that specific company.

I'm not sure if this will resonate, but when you go to a local amusement park and buy an all-day pass, you are sometimes given a bracelet made of paper or plastic to wear on your wrist. By wearing this bracelet, the staff can identify you as a customer who bought an all-day pass.

In a company, this 'job title' is the same as that 'bracelet' that visualizes your all-day pass. Naturally, the effect of the bracelet is limited to the amusement park. If you were to show the bracelet to a station attendant on the Shinkansen ride home and insist, 'I have an all-day pass!', you would almost certainly be seen as a crazy person.

If you think about the fundamental principles, a company title should be the same. Once you leave the workplace, even if you run into your boss in a private setting, there is no need to fawn over them more than necessary.

Yes, essentially, a job title is just a role and should never be a rank.

I define this as

'A job title is a Role, not a Rank.'

I make it a point to remind myself of this in various situations whenever the opportunity arises.

However, in society, a job title is often directly linked to a person's excellence or ability. A regular employee is seen as lacking, while a department manager is seen as a talented individual...

And that perception follows them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Even among friends who work at different companies, conversations over drinks often revolve around who got promoted, who moved to a fast-track department, or who was ordered to a dead-end transfer.

A job title is just a label

But! A job title does not inherently guarantee the evaluation of the person who was given that title. It is merely a label to clarify the scope of responsibility that person can handle.

Generally, as a position rises, routine tasks where you actually work with your hands decrease, while conversely, you take on more abstract work such as handling problems, coordinating interpersonal relationships, and personnel evaluations.

It's the image that people with lower positions are in charge of 'tasks,' while people with higher positions are in charge of 'work'.

Jobs that involve interacting with many people are often more complex and require more comprehensive experience and skills than 'simple tasks.' Because of this complexity, there is more stress and pressure, and of course, as more people are involved, the responsibility also increases.

I understand that the increase in salary as one moves up in rank is like an allowance for this level of responsibility and pressure.

However, it is not the case that if everyone did the work of a manager, the responsibility and pressure would be dispersed and everyone would be happy.

The essence of work, or corporate activity, is problem-solving, so without general employees to perform the tasks, products and services would not reach the customers. As long as we continue to provide products and services, irregular situations will inevitably occur, so the presence of managers who take responsibility for dealing with them is also essential.

The difference is not in human greatness, but in 'role'.

From the perspective of each individual, a regular employee and a manager may look like they are in completely different positions, but if you think of a company as a business within a business, there is not much difference. The difference is only in 'role.' If you compare it to the human body, isn't it just the difference between bone and muscle? By the way, when it comes to unique parts like the heart or brain, that no longer refers to a single person, but rather to conceptual things like the 'trust' in a product or service, or the 'history' of the company.

The words of Peter Drucker that I am introducing this time express this way of thinking about 'position' in work with a broader, more universal interpretation.

Not only job titles like chief, section manager, or department manager, but also roles like 'father,' 'mother,' 'teacher,' or 'senior' can be interpreted as positions in a sense.

If you think about society as a whole, rather than just limiting it to the people you actually interact with, everyone born before you is a 'senior in life,' and conversely, those younger than you are 'juniors in life.' As a person living in society, I believe there are responsibilities that come with being a senior, and responsibilities that come with being a junior.

It should never be the case that just because someone was born earlier, they are a greater human being, or that because someone was born later, they are inferior. That must not be the case.

How to deal with people who wield power based on their position

I think people who rest on their laurels and try to wield power have anxiety about themselves at their core. Because they have nothing to be proud of in terms of universal factors like humanity or ability, some people end up acting arrogantly or giving haughty instructions.

However, 'position' is just a label. It doesn't work if the organization changes, and if the organization that gave you that position disappears, the position itself will vanish without a trace.

It is better not to think that you are given a position to fulfill a role, and that you are recognized as being superior as a human being because of that position. And roles always come with responsibility. The focus should be on the role and responsibility, not the position itself...

That said, I do not recommend confronting people who are obsessed with wielding power based on their position head-on. There is no need to lower yourself to their level.

There is only one thing you should do: polish yourself. If you do that, in the long run, you will surely be able to remove yourself from the targets that the other person attacks. This is because the other person chooses who to attack based on position. It's a kind of irony. Haha

Summary

The quote I introduced this time was this!

This expresses the idea that status and job titles are not merely for controlling others or pursuing personal gain, but rather entail significant duties and responsibilities that accompany that position.

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