There are different ways to be known and valuable inside an organisation. The two I want to explore here are personal power and relationship power, and how the balance between them shifts as your career evolves.
When I say power, I mean your ability to influence others and get what you need from the organisation.
Personal Power
When you start out, you usually have a lot of personal power. As an engineer, you’re writing code, shipping features, writing documentation. You’re known for your expertise and respected for it.
This comes with a compounding benefit: you can keep getting better. Learn new tools, deepen your craft, sharpen your instincts. The feedback loop is tight and satisfying.
Relationship Power
When you become a manager, a new dimension opens up: relationship power. This is fundamentally different.
As a manager, you’re not primarily valued for what you can do alone. You’re valued for your ability to solve complex problems that require multiple people working together. The only way to do that is through strong relationships: with the people you support, your cross-functional partners, and your own managers. That capacity to align and move people is probably the greatest contribution you can bring.
You Always Need Both
The balance shifts, but neither side disappears entirely.
Even as an engineer, relationships matter. Nobody wants to work with someone who writes brilliant code but is difficult to collaborate with. As a manager, technical credibility still counts, but it’s table stakes, not your primary contribution.
What changes is the weight. Personal power gets you in the door. Relationship power determines how far you go.