Power and loyalty

I read an article by motivational speaker Brian Tracy (who is a black belt, by the way, and downline from one of my black belts) on power. He says there are three types; expert power, ascribed power, and position power.
Becoming an expert in your field and thereby being sought due to that describes expert power. When people gravitate to you naturally, he calls it ascribed power. Having a position of authority is defined as position power. He states that ideally you should strive for all three.
You can probably think of people who fit each one of these descriptions but maybe not as many who fit all three. I'd use Ed Parker as an example of having all three. He was an expert in his field. And when I am told stories of what he was like as a young instructor he apparently knew much more than expected for his age, so rising to an expert position was not hard to understand. As he matured he was asked to visit countries around the world - attributable to his status as an expert.
As a person of Hawaiian royal lineage he had that "certain something", charisma, that drew people to him. He would have been a prince if the royal lineage had been sustained, and as I've said elsewhere, he acted like a prince and the people loved him. He possessed ascribed power. When you ascribe power you allow people into your life to affect it. The cashier at the supermarket does not have ascribed power in your life, they have position power.
Position power came to Ed Parker as an instructor, and later as the head of an international karate association and senior grandmaster. His work as a teacher, guide, facilitator, author, speaker, businessman, friend, and family man all were contributing factors. He was truly unique.
Now think about the people in our lives who possess power. Boss, spouse, friends, teachers, associates. How many of these types of power do they have? How many do you have? I look back at my martial arts teachers and view them in this light. I have for quite some time but the Brian Tracy article delineated the types so well it got me thinking. I have one teacher in particular that had expert power, gained position power, but really lacked in ascribed power.
In hindsight, I think he had a degree of ascribed power for some time period over many of us until we realized just what he was like, having been blinded by his position as expert and holding some "power" to promote. The expert power was strong because he really knew his subject. The ascribed power was weak due to personality and the position power lost effectiveness due to his ascribed power weakness. A shame, really, but a lesson in really considering who your teacher is, in any pursuit.
There just are not that many who have all three that we meet and involve in our lives. It's a gift when they are there. I've met more than my share of great martial artists. Some are whole people, some are just nuts. And I've met some practitioners who are the Barney Fifes of martial arts - nice people, hold power by position, but missing something. But that's what made Barney popular; people can relate because we all know or can think of a Barney Fife.
In my mind, power and loyalty often go together. Many years ago one of my friend's fathers observed that his son's buddies were "a loyal bunch of bastards". And we were, we were tight, and 30 years later we're still talking. It's been my experience that true loyalty flows both ways and when it doesn't something needs to be corrected or changed.
I've been a black belt since 1975. In the past 30+ years I have not promoted a ton of black belts. Some I inherited. It averages out to 2.6 promotions/year. But of all those people, very few have either jumped ship or been asked to walk the plank. Of 20 4th degree and higher students one died, one disappeared, two went inactive due to injuries (not karate induced), one left and one I told I could not remain as his instructor. That means almost 75% have stayed with me. The newest 4th degrees have been with me about 10 years or so, the higher guys between 20-30 years. Why is that?
I like to think it's because I have expert power, for one. Second, I have some position power, being a senior in the system. But I think I have ascribed power. I try to treat my people right. I mess up now and again and I try to recognize that and make it right (sometimes you just can't). I give credit where credit is due. I try to be a good friend. I overheard Gary Ellis tell Steve White that he knows I care about him and that makes him feel good about our relationship. I know Ed Parker cared about me and I felt good about that. My group in Chicago keeps having me back, treats me well, stays in touch, brings their wives and kids to after-seminar gatherings to say hello and all the good stuff that goes with being a part of this family. I've been gone from the Windy City for almost 20 years. They could have done what many groups do when their instructor leaves; they start shopping around. I've seen it time and again around the world. While they have attended seminars with other well-known instructors, they choose to remain with me. Why? Loyalty and friendship. They continue to ask me to teach them and in return I keep up on new developments, work on better and more in-depth presentations for them. I have to stay ahead, that's part of "the deal". It's a two-way street. And it's not confined to my Chicago people, I try to give every group I'm with my best.
I've been where the street is a one-way, maybe a dead end would be a better description. It's not good. You may have to make a difficult decision and give yourself permission to leave. It won't be the end of the world. It will be hard, and emotional. We deal with enough garbage in life that we don't need someone we look up to who doesn't really care about us. I guess it boils down to whether the student thinks the teacher is really what they need and for the teacher to consider if they are holding up their end of the deal.
'nuff said.