Power and Influence in a Workplace

The aspect of expert power is critical in leadership as it shapes the confidence employees, shareholders and other stakeholders have in the organizations, and the Royal Bank of Canada is no exception. It is worth noting that expert power works to take an institution through turbulent moments. For instance, it will help leaders to make the right decision when necessary to push growth forward. RBC’s intention to expand their growth to the US market is a case in point (Alexander, 2013). David I. McKay is keen to highlight the bank’s intention to grow beyond its home borders and in the event, boost profitability and growth. He alludes to the fact that the bank’s approach has been vague in the past as there is no clear way of how they intend to achieve the sameHowever, he points his intention to capitalize on capital markets and wealth management segments to tap on international growth (Kiladze, 2017). McKay’s approach demonstrates his expertise in the banking sector. Mackay’s leadership based on expertise will be instrumental as employees tap on his skill and look up to him as a mentor. On the other hand, both new and old shareholders will be keen to invest in the bank, now and in the future, as they are confident that the man at the helm is well-versed with banking knowledge. Mr McKay has 25 years in the industry, which gives him an added advantage to lead the institution from an expert’s point of view. He can identify any existing gaps and leverage on existing opportunities to push the bank’s growth even further. The staff in the bank are proud to identify with the bank owing to the continued growth. The sense of identity from employees is influential as it will enhance their performance while acting as a motivating factor. The employees would feel compelled to come up with innovative methods to tailor customer-oriented approaches that would reflect on the needs and expectations of customers and in the event, achieve higher growth.

The RBC bank uses its power and influence to determine the direction of issues which affect the nation in one way or another. For instance, RBC is the leading energy bank, and as such, it has been in the front line to advocate for better environmental The bank is keen to shape the use of clean energies and offer the world a model upon which they can reference towards ensuring a zero-carbon emission. The CEO plays a key role in leading this strategy in the sense that, he is applying the banks policy on sustainable energy to achieve the mission of reducing carbon emissions. He has been working with RBC bank in the past, and as such, he will use his expertise to influence how elimination of carbon emissions gains traction.  MacKay will ensure companies in the energy sector would who are keen to preserve the environment benefit from low-interest loans.

Mackay uses his powers and influence that take after his position to create social networks in RBC through a strong culture that takes institutional values into consideration. The CEO’s approach ensures the company has all its stakeholders connected to each and in the event, provide a fulfilling environment across the board. The culture is very strong to the extent that the bank has been recognized in the Waterstone Human Capital Ltd annual study. The bank while acknowledging the recognition, cites the values as the core source of their success. The values to which the bank attributes its success upon include teamwork, diversity, and integrity, responsibility and emphasis on service. This approach has always seen the bank earn reputation from their customers. This is the framework upon which the bank operates to ensure interconnectivity between employees, clients and shareholders and in turn, they will succeed together. McKay has been working for the bank for many years prior and as such he has been pushing for the same values in his new capacity. He influences other employees through rewarding those who come out as outstanding players in offering excellent services to the bank and other stakeholders.

The bank’s CEO has been influential in offering visionary leadership. McKay creates strategies that create value towards ensuring the institution realizes optimal outcomes. In his address in 2016 at University of Canada, McKay was quick to point out the bank’s commitment to giving young people in colleges the best support since he believes education is the pathway to innovation and is the backdrop against which the future of the economy thrives. He acknowledges the ability of education to propel the economy to another levelHe is quick to cite how the world is experiencing changes in technology, social values, demographics. All these elements highlight his thinking capabilities towards the aspect of transformation in ensuring the bank aligns its strategies to the changing operating environment. He wishes to see universities across the globe take a leading position in spearheading the transformation. McKay can be seen to be looking way ahead in the years that he may not be the CEO and as such, he anticipates a situation where the bank will be able to find a replacement to advance its growth trajectory. He seems to embrace a leadership style that factors in the entire country ranging from education to supporting startups across Ontario (Business Higher Education RoundTable, 2016). He sees this as the only way communities can grow through thriving businesses and education that will shape tomorrow’s leadership. The CEO works to facilitate the move by supporting college students to pursue education to prepare them for tomorrow’s leadership.

Conflict and Negotiation in a workplace

RBC knows how to approach issues to do with conflict through a well-structured system to ensure that the interests of the stakeholders are well-taken care. Conflicting interests in any organization can shape or destroy the organization depending on how it handles the issue. For instance, an institution that applies constructive conflict approach achieves consensus between the parties while ensuring respect between all players. However, those organizations using the relationship approach lose the focus by emphasizing personal characteristics to beat each other out of the game. RBC uses the constructive conflict approach to tackle impending issues and to pave way for the bank’s growth. For instance, they have a policy that dictates all its top managers to accumulate enough stock to ensure their personal interests align to those of the bank’s shareholders. For instance, the former CEO had shares that amounted to eight times his three-year average salary package. Other officers at the rank of an executive are expected to have a stock volume six times their base salary (RBC, 2013). The aspect of executive shareholding is a requirement by the bank to promote ethical standards within its employees.   It is evident that the bank is aware that often employees may be tempted to engage in unethical behaviors due to conflict of interest between the bank and themselves. It is apparent that ensuring the top executives accumulate enough stocks in the bank will give them the impetus to coordinate the bank’s activities as if it was their own business. The executives act as their brother’s keeper as they will not allow any of them to indulge in activities that may threaten the bank’s growth and existence. The approach ensures the bank’s integrity is under protection and investors stay rest assured that their investments are safe. In any case, this is a sound decision making a procedure that will go a long way in preventing fraud among employees. McKay is part of the journey and as the current CEO, he would be purchasing the same level of shares.

References

Alexander, D. (2013). RBC’s McKay Sees Path Back to U.S. Retail Banking. Retrieved from Bloomberg Technology: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-01-24/rbc-s-mckay-sees-path-back-to-u-s-retail-bank

Business Council of Canada. (2016). Dave McKay, President and CEO of RBC: “A new energy conversation”. Retrieved from http://thebusinesscouncil.ca/publications/dave-mckay-president-ceo-rbc-new-energy-conversation/

Business Higher Education RoundTable. (2016). Dave McKay, President and CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada: “An agile future through work-integrated learning”. Retrieved from Speeches: http://bher.ca/publications/dave-mckay-president-and-ceo-of-the-royal-bank-of-canada-an-agile-future-through-work-integrated-learning

Kiladze, T. (2017). How RBC’s new CEO learned to be wary of complacency. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/from-humble-beginnings-at-rbc-new-ceo-is-wary-of-complacency/article19881959/

RBC. (2013). Corporate Responsibility Report and Public Accountability Statement. Retrieved from RBC Financial Group: http://www.rbc.com/community/rbc_community/community_reports/2003report/html/business/governance.html