Power and Influence

Power and Influence

Introduction

Some of history’s earliest characterizations of leaders concerned their use of power.

Current

scholars

have

also

emphasized

the

need

to

the

conceptualize

leadership

as

a

power

phenomenon.

Some Important Distinction

Many people use the terms

power, influence, influence tactics

synonymously, but it is useful

to distinguish between them.

Power

?

?

?

Power is the potential of an individual (or group) to influence another individual or group

Power is the capacity to cause change

While we usually think of power belonging to the leader, it is actually a function of the

leader, the follower and the situation.

?

Leaders have the potential to influence their followers’ behavior and attitudes.

?

However, followers also can affect the leader’s be

havior and attitudes.

?

Even the situation

itself can affect a leader’s capacity to influence his followers (and

vice versa).

?

Power does not need to be exercised in order to have its effect. Merely having the capacity to

exert influence can often bring about intended effects, even though the leaders may not take

any action to influence his or her followers.

Influence

It can be defined as the change in a target agent’s attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors as

the result of influence tactics.

Influence tactics

They refer to one person’s actual behaviors designed to change another person’s attitudes,

beliefs, values or behaviors.

Sources of Lead

er Power

Where does a leader’s power come from?

?

Something

as

seemingly

trivial

as

the

arrangement

of

furniture

in

an

office

can

affect

perceptions of another person’s power.

?

Prominently

displaying

symbols

like

diplomas,

awards,

and

titles

also

can

increase

one’s

power.

?

Even choice of clothing can affect one’s power and influence.

?

A final situational factor that can affec

t one’s potential to influence others is the presence or

absence of a crisis.

A Taxonomy of Social Power

French

and

Raven

identified

five

sources,

or

bases,

of

power

by

which

an

individual

can

potentially influence others.

Expert Power

Expert power is the power of knowledge. Some people are able to influence others through

their relative expertise in particular areas.

Because expert power is a function of the amount of knowledge one possesses relative to

the

rest

of

the

members

of

the

group,

it

is

possible

for

followers

to

have

considerably

more

expert power than leaders in certain situation.

So long as different followers have considerably greater amounts of expert power, it will be

difficult for a leader to influence the work unit on the basis of expert power alone.