POWER
AND INFLUENCE
He-man! He had the power. His power came from a double-edged broad
sword. He hung out with the Masters of
the Universe fighting the powers of evil.
Their nemesis was skeletor…a villain with a skull head and a maniacal
laugh. I guess that works if the world were a
cartoon. The world, although sometimes
seeming cartoonish, doesn’t work that way.
Although we deal with characters, we must sadly face our issues without
the broad sword.
The learning
objective in chapter 8 of Dr. Gary Yukl’s text are:
·
Understand the process by which power is acquired or
lost in an organization.
·
Understand the consequences of power for
leadership effectiveness.
·
Understand ways to use power effectively.
·
Understand the different types of influence
tactics used in organizations.
·
Understand how the tactics are used to influence
subordinates, peers and superiors.
·
Understand effective ways to use the tactics.
Dr. Yukl breaks it down into three categories:
1.
Power
2.
Authority
3.
Influence Processes
Dr. Yukl’s influence processes are: Instrumental Compliance, Internalization and
Personal Identification. (Yukl, 2013)
While doing some internet research, I found the following
article which echoes much of Dr. Yukl’s text:
Power and Influence
What role does power
and influence have on leadership styles? What impact does it have on
follower/staff behavior and performance? This is a question that all leaders,
whether they be organizational leaders, business leaders, team leaders or
project leaders need to address. Power is the capacity of others to exert
their will over others. It is the ability to make things happen, overcoming
potential resistance in order to achieve desired results. The person, group or
team seeks to influence thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of another
individual, group or team.
Power may be used
positively or negatively. When used negatively it may well cause conflict. Used
positively it can be used to overcome conflict and even avert it.
Different sources of power have been identified and can be described based on power Sources (a) Positional Power and (b) Personal Power:
Different sources of power have been identified and can be described based on power Sources (a) Positional Power and (b) Personal Power:
Positional Power Sources- Legitimate
Power
- Reward
Power
- Coercive
Power
Personal Power
Sources
- Referent
Power
- Expert
Power
- Information
Power
Legitimate Power
Legitimate Power is
related to the position or status of the person in the organization. The person
believes that they have the right to make demands on others and expect them to
be compliant. Legitimate power gives the leader/manager power over their direct
reports. The more senior a person is and/or the more people they may have in
their team the more positional power the person perceives that they have. All
managers have some degree of positional power.
Warnings:
- People
are influenced by the position and not by you
- Your
ability to influence through legitimate power is restricted by those
situations in which people believe you have the right or power to
influence their actions or behaviors
- Do
not rely on legitimate power to influence others. Doing so may result in
you abusing your power. This will lead to poor working relationships (see
motivational theory) and potential conflict.
I have worked with
managers who have abused this power. The result has led to demotivated
individuals or teams, conflict and loss of respect for the manager from team
members. All leaders need to assess how they are using legitimate power.
Develop other sources of power to increase your influencing skills and achieve
results through your people.
Reward Power
Reward power is the
ability to give rewards. Examples of these rewards are promotions, pay
increases, working on special projects, training and developmental
opportunities and compliments. Reward power is the result of positional power.
and is limited to your position in the organization. You may not always have
complete control over the rewards. However, due to your position you may be
able to have some influence in the rewards. Look at what rewards you can use to
influence other's behaviors and actions.
Coercive Power
Coercive Power is
the opposite of Reward Power. It is the ability to use threats and punishments.
Many managers and leaders abuse this source of power leading to greater
problems. Extensive use of coercive power should be avoided. Leadership styles
may tend to be very autocratic. Be careful that you are not exerting power
over others inappropriately.
Referent Power
Referent power is
the ability of others to identify with those who have desirable resources or
personal traits. You may also hear of charismatic power. This comes from the
personal characteristics of the person. For example: Their energy, endurance,
empathy, toughness, humor, charm. People with this source of power can
influence people. However, again be careful that you do not abuse it.
Expert Power
Expert power refers
to the power that people have who have specialist knowledge, who are experts in
their field or have knowledge or skills that are in short supply. People tend
to listen more to those who demonstrate expertise. Expert power does not require
positional power. Leaders and managers should also be aware of expert power
where it exists in their teams. To ignore it is potentially abusing their
positional power.
How can you use and
develop expert power as a leader? Here are some ideas:
- Use
it to offer guidance and support to your team and to motivate them
- Use
it to gain respect for your position, skills and knowledge from your
peers, those above you in the organization, from your team, from
customers, suppliers and those with whom you interact
- Develop
expertise, both knowledge and skills, that are required for your position
and future positions. Keep yourself informed of new developments in your
area
- Maintain
your credibility by participating in discussions that you are well
informed on. Beware of trying to give the impression that you are an
expert in all areas. You are not. Use the appropriate expertise from your
team and other departments or functions
- Be
open to discuss concerns that your team or others may have. By listening
to their concerns you can use your expertise to allay them. Thus creating
credibility and respect. This is a very important skill in leading change
and managing resistance
- Acknowledge
the expertise that is in your team. You do not need to have more expertise
than them in every area
(Leadership and Development, n.d.)
In
this assignment, I am asked to reflect on the power that I
personally bring to my work place (if you are not employed, think about an
organization of which you are part…such as your family or your church).
·
What
are the sources of that power?
·
What
is the nature of that power?
·
How
is it used or not used?
·
How
is that power related to your ability to lead or follow?
·
Finally,
if it applies, have you experienced high quality LMX situations within your
workplace which are dysfunctional in the sense that Othamn et al describe in
the extra reading material for this module?
When I was in the Army, I had
legitimate power. General military
authority was given to me based on my rank.
Anyone with lesser rank than I had to do as I said. This authority was bestowed by the U.S. Army.
Unfortunately, this mantle of
leadership was sometimes bestowed on people who could not lead their way out of
a wet paper bag.
However, the Army did provide leadership
training in a well thought out format.
Enlisted Soldiers have a system known as the Noncommissioned Officer
Educational System (NCOES) and Commissioned Officers have a system known as the
Officer Educational System (OES).
General Military Authority is used
judiciously. As a senior Soldier, we don’t
lord our authority like a tyrant.
To the best of my knowledge, I have
not experienced high quality LMX situations within my workplace.
Refernces
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations. (8th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice.
Leadership and Development (n.d.) Power and Influence. Retrieved on
January 31, 2016 from http://www.leadership-development-tips.com/power-and-influence.html
