There are as many different roads to kingship as there are personality types. Most of the posts so far have focused on interactions with subordinates. Lots of good thoughts in these posts, by the way, although I don't agree with everything that's been said. That has more to do with interactions with peers and organizational superiors. Power does not exist in a vacuum.
Power exists only because man, being a social animal, naturally gathers into groups.
My contention is that we wield and display power through the manipulation of subordinates, and that our subordinates define our power and authority, even if only through their number. It is also true that every manager is, in at least one relationship, also a subordinate. Thus, by attending to the relationships we managers have with our subordinates, we can better assess the relationships we have with our superiors. Doing well through actions that do not score well themselves is eventually a self-defeating process. Like the guy who zips down the emergency lane every morning to beat the commuter queue that has backed-up the freeway, not being nice may look promising at first, but in the long run it will destroy the very environment it needs for its own success.