The paths to power: How to grow your influence and advance your career

Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stanford GSB professor of organizational behavior and author of Seven Rules of Power, explains why political skill drives career outcomes like promotion and salary. The conversation walks through his seven power rules, from getting out of your own way and building a personal brand to networking, using power, and accepting that past tactics get forgiven once you have influence.

01Key learnings

• Political skill is linked to higher pay, promotions, job satisfaction and lower stress, so treating influence as a learnable skill rather than something dirty is worth the effort.
• Get out of your own way: stop pre-emptory apologizing, stop doubting you deserve your role, and avoid leaking disrespect or dislike toward people on your critical path.
• Prioritize competence and respect over being liked; you were hired to get a job done, so doing the needed work matters more than being popular.
• Build a deliberate personal brand so decision-makers know who you are, since no one promotes someone they don't know, and pair visibility with real substance.
• Network with generosity, keeping a list of people who matter for your goals and finding concrete ways to meet them, such as introductions, dinners or useful articles.
• Seek weak ties and become a broker who connects people with mutual benefit, because diverse connections bring non-redundant information and better opportunities.
• Skills like body language, eye contact, concise speech and command of material can be practiced; close the knowing-doing gap by applying them deliberately with coaching and feedback.
• Power has costs: loss of autonomy and privacy, so weigh whether a high-power role is worth the lost control over your time and life.

02Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.