5 1 Chapter 5 Power and Influence The

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Chapter 5 Power and Influence “The true leader must submerge himself in the fountain of the people. ” ~V. I. Lenin Mc. Graw-Hill/Irwin copyright © 2009 by The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, inc. All Rights Reserved 1 -2

Some Important Distinctions • Power has been defined as the capacity to produce effects on others, or the potential to influence others. • Followers or situational characteristics may diminish or enhance a leader’s potential to influence followers. • Power does not need to be exercised in order to have its effect. • Power is attributed to others on the basis and frequency of influence tactics they use and on their outcomes. 5 -3

Power, Influence and Influence Tactics • Influence: Defined as the change in a target agent’s attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors as the result of influence tactics. • Influence tactics: Refer to one person’s actual behaviors designed to change another person’s attitudes, beliefs, values, or behaviors. • Followers can wield power and influence over leaders as well as over each other. 5 -4

Measuring Power and Influence • Influence can be measured by the behaviors or attitudes manifested by followers as a result of leader’s influence tactics. • Leaders can cause fairly substantial changes in subordinates’ attitudes and behaviors. • The amount of power followers have in work situations can also vary dramatically. – Sometimes, particular followers may exert relatively more influence than the leader does. 5 -5

Measuring Power and Influence (continued) • Individuals with a relatively large amount of power may successfully employ a wider variety of influence tactics. • Followers often can use a wider variety of influence tactics than the leader. – This is because the formal leader is not always the person who possesses the most power in a leadership situation. 5 -6

Sources of Leader Power • Furniture, office arrangements and type of office • Prominently displayed symbols • Appearances of title and authority • Choice of clothing • Presence or absence of crisis 5 -7

Sources of Leader Power in the Leader. Follower-Situation Framework 5 -8

Expert Power • Expert power: Power of knowledge. • Some people are able to influence others through their relative expertise in particular areas. • If different followers have considerably greater amounts of expert power, the leader may be unable to influence them using expert power alone. 5 -9

Referent Power • Referent power: Refers to the potential influence one has due to the strength of the relationship between the leader and the followers. • Referent power often takes time to develop. • The stronger the relationship, the more influence leaders and followers exert over each other. • Followers with relatively more referent power than their peers are often spokespersons for their units. – They generally have more latitude to deviate from work-unit norms. 5 -10

Legitimate Power • Legitimate power: Depends on a person’s organizational role. • Legitimate power allows exertion of influence through requests or demands deemed appropriate by virtue of role and position. – Holding a position and being a leader are not synonymous. • Effective leaders often intuitively realize they need more than legitimate power to be successful. • It is also possible for followers to use their legitimate power to influence leaders. 5 -11

Reward Power • Reward power: Involves the potential to influence others due to one’s control over desired resources. • The potential to influence others through reward power is a joint function of the leader, the followers, and the situation. • An overemphasis on rewards for performance can lead to resentment and feelings by workers of being manipulated. • Extrinsic rewards may not have the same effects on behavior as intrinsic rewards. 5 -12

Cautions About Reward Power • Leaders can enhance their ability to influence others based on reward power if they: – Determine what rewards are available. – Determine what rewards are valued by their subordinates. – Establish clear policies for the equitable and consistent administration of rewards for good performance. • Followers may exercise reward power over leaders by: – Controlling administration of scarce resources. – Modifying their level of effort. 5 -13

Coercive Power • Coercive power is the potential to influence others through the administration of negative sanctions or the removal of positive events. • Reliance on this power has inherent limitations and drawbacks. • One of the most common forms of coercion is a superior’s temperamental outbursts. • Followers can also use this power to influence their leader’s behavior. – More likely to use this power when a relatively high amount of referent power exists among coworkers. 5 -14

Concluding Thoughts about French and Raven’s Power Taxonomy • Leaders can usually exert more power during a crisis than during periods of relative calm. – During a crisis, followers may be more eager to receive direction and control from leaders. • Research indicates that reliance on referent and expert power led to employees who were: – – More motivated More satisfied Were absent less Performed better 5 -15

Four Generalizations about Power and Influence • Effective leaders typically take advantage of all their sources of power. • Leaders in well-functioning organizations are open to being influenced by their subordinates. • Leaders vary in the extent to which they share power with subordinates. • Effective leaders generally work to increase their various power bases or become more willing to use their coercive power. 5 -16

Leader Motives • People vary in their motivation to influence or control others. • Two different ways of expressing the need for power: – Personalized power – Socialized power • Thematic Apperception Tests have been used to assess the need for power. – It is a projective personality test. • Need for power is found to be positively related to various leadership effectiveness criteria. 5 -17

Leader Motives (continued) • Leaders who are relatively uninhibited in their need for power will use power impulsively. • Leaders with a high need for power but low activity inhibition may be successful in the short term, but create hazards for the long-term. • Some followers have a high need for power too. 5 -18

Motivation to Manage • Individuals vary in their motivation to manage in terms of six composites: – Maintaining good relationships with authority figures. – Wanting to compete for recognition and advancement. – Being active and assertive. – Wanting to exercise influence over subordinates. – Being visibly different from followers. – Being willing to do routine administrative tasks. 5 -19

Miner’s Sentence Completion Scale • Findings concerning both the need for power and the motivation to manage have several implications: – Not all individuals like being leaders. – A high need for power or motivation to manage does not guarantee leadership success. – In order to be successful in the long term, leaders may have to have both: • A high need for socialized power. • A high level of activity inhibition. 5 -20

Types of Influence Tactics • Influence Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) assesses nine types of influence tactics: – – – – – Rational persuasion Inspirational appeals Consultation Ingratiation Personal appeals Exchange Coalition tactics Pressure tactics Legitimizing tactics 5 -21

Influence Tactics and Power • A strong relationship exists between relative power and types of influence tactics used. • Hard tactics are typically used when: – An influencer has the upper hand. – Resistance is anticipated. – When a person’s behavior violates important norms. • Soft tactics are typically used when: – They are at a disadvantage. – They expect resistance. – They will personally benefit if the attempt is successful. 5 -22

Influence Tactics and Power (continued) • Rational tactics are typically used when: – Parties are relatively equal in power. – Resistance is not anticipated. – Benefits are organizational as well as personal. • Leaders with high referent power generally do not use legitimizing or pressure tactics. • Leaders with only coercive or legitimate power may use only coalition, legitimizing, or pressure tactics. • Using influence tactics can be thought of as a social skill. 5 -23

A Concluding Thought about Influence Tactics • Research indicates that though hard tactics are effective, it also changes the way we see others. • An implicit lesson for leaders is of being conscious of the type of influence tactic to use and its effects. – It is suggested that leaders pay attention to why they believe particular influence tactics are called for. • Influence efforts intended to build others up more frequently lead to positive outcomes rather than vice versa. 5 -24

Summary • By reflecting on their different bases of power, leaders may better understand how they can affect followers and even expand their power. • Leaders can improve their effectiveness by finding ways to enhance their idiosyncratic credit. • Leaders should discourage in-group and outgroup rivalries to develop in the work unit. • The exercise of power occurs primarily through the influence tactics leaders and followers use. • Leadership practitioners should always consider why they are using a particular influence attempt before they actually use it. 5 -25