Leadership and Power
AGED 3153
Thought for the day…
“The key to successful leadership
today is influence, not authority.”
~ Kenneth Blanchard
Overview
 Leadership
and power
 Kinds, uses and results
 Influence
Leadership & Power

Power is the capacity or potential to
influence

People have power when they have the
ability to affect others’
Beliefs
 Attitudes
 Courses of action

Power

Proper exercise of power is good


used to benefit the collective goal
To gain power or function within an
organization, we need to understand types
of power and their sources.
Major kinds of organizational
power
 Position
 Derived
from office or rank in formal system
 Vice-President,
Lead person, Farm Foreman
 Personal
 Derived
 Based
from followership
on relationships
Bases of Social Power
French & Raven (1959)
Position

Reward



power because of holding a
title
Coercive


if you fulfill a request; I will
award you something
Legitimate

Personal
ability to administer
unwanted things or
withhold things
Referent


built or emotionally based
personal approval
Expert

have the knowledge,
information and expertise
Coercion

The use of force to effect change
via the manipulation of rewards and penalties
 use of threats, punishments & negative
rewards


Power & restraint used to force followers
to engage in extreme behavior
Examples of Coercive Leaders

Adolf Hitler

Jim Jones

David Koresh
Jim Jones

Jim Jones’ power

News cast
Influence

The ability to affect the behavior of others in a
particular direction (Cohen, Fink, Gadon & Willits, 1992 p. 139)

Leadership is an Influence process
Leaders are influential only when they exercise
power.
Leaders must acquire and use power to influence
others.


Model of Power & Influence
A leader's influence behavior has a direct
impact on how the target responds to the
influence attempt
 There are three possible outcomes

3
 Commitment
 Compliance
 Resistance
(Yukl & Taber, 1983)
Model of Power & Influence

Commitment
 Indicates
the highest degree of success:
The target of the influence attempt is
enthusiastic about carrying out the
request and makes a full effort.
Model of Power & Influence

Compliance
 Means
that the influence attempt is
partially successful:
The target person is apathetic (not
overjoyed) about carrying out the
request and makes only a modest
effort.
Model of Power & Influence

Resistance
 Unsuccessful
influence attempt:
The target is opposed to carrying out
the request and finds ways to either
not comply or do a poor job.
Model of Power & Influence


Power and influence interact to determine how
much influence a leader has with people.
Involves:





The situation
Leader’s traits (self-confidence, extroversion)
Leader’s personal & position power
Reaction of target (follower or superior)
Perceived relevance of influence request
Dubrin, p. 232
A Model of Power and
Influence (4th ed.)
Model of Power & Influence
If the leader is successful, perceived to
have more power
 Failure lowers the perception of power
 Commitment enhances the probability of
success
 Resistance decreases the probability of
success.

12 Ethical & Honest Tactics
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Leading by example
Using rational
persuasion
Developing a reputation
as a subject matter
expert
Exchanging favors and
bargaining
Getting network
members to support
your position
Legitimating a Request
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Making an inspirational
appeal and emotional
display
Displaying personal
magnetism
Consulting
Forming coalitions
Being a team player
Practicing hands-on
leadership
Dishonest and Unethical Tactics

Divided into two groups:
clearly unethical and borderline.

The more unethical
and devious tactics:




Deliberate
Machiavellianism
Gentle manipulation
of people and
situations
Undue pressure
Game playing

The five borderline
influence tactics:





Debasing oneself to
gain advantage
Upward appeal
Silent treatment
Ingratiation
Joking and kidding
Becoming an Empowering Leader

A leader's power and influence increase
when he or she shares power with
others.
Explanation…
 As team members receive more power,
they can accomplish more.


As leader shares the credit for
accomplishments, he or she becomes
more powerful.
Becoming an Empowering Leader

Powerful leaders make team members
feel powerful and able to accomplish
tasks on their own

To empower others is to be perceived as
an influential person. (Dubrin, p. 200)
How much power should
a leader have?
Summary
Power and influence are important tools
for leaders
 5 bases of power
 12 honest and ethical influence tactics
 9 dishonest and ethical influence tactics
 Certain tactics are more effective
 Sequencing of influence tactics is another
important consideration

References

Bass, B. (1990). Bass & Stodgill’s Handbook of leadership: Theory research, and
managerial applications. 3rd Ed. NY: Free Press

Cohen, A., Fink. S. Gadon, H & Willits, R. (1992) Effective behavior in organizations.
Homewood, IL: Irwin.

Dubrin, A. (2004). Leadership: Research, findings, practice and skills. NY: Houghton
Mifflin.

French, J. R. & Raven, B. (1959). Bases of social power. In Dorwin Cartwright, Ed.
Studies in social power. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute ffor Social Research

Pfeffer, J. (1981). Power in organizations. Marshfield, MA: Pitman.

Yukl, G. & Falbe, C. (1990). Influence tactics and objectives in upward, downward,
and lateral influcence attempts. Journal of Applied Psychology. April, p. 133.

Yukl, G. & Taber, T. The effective use of managerial power, Personnel, March –april
37-44.

Yukl, G. & Tracey, B. (1992) Consequences of influence tactics used with
subordinates, peers, and the boss. Journal of Applied Psychology, August, 526.

Northouse, P. (2007). Leadership Theory and Practice. 4th Ed. CA: Sage