Power and Culture 1
Running Head: Power and Its Effect on Culture and Leadership
Power and Its Effect on Culture and Leadership
EAD625
Linda Schmitigal
Power and Culture 2
Power and Its Effect on Culture and Leadership
The affect of power on leadership and culture is real and this affect can be long
lasting. The term power conjures up images of both good and evil and is a topic that is
rarely discussed in leadership training or management planning sessions. But, because
“power is the foundation for influence attempts” (Johnson, 2001, p. 10) understanding its
uses and limitations helps a leader to learn to use it effectively. Becoming an effective
leader is critical because organizations do not form accidentally. Leaders help
organizations form culture by “being goal oriented, having specific purpose, and are
created because one or more individuals perceive that the coordinated and concerted
action of a number of people can accomplish something that individual action cannot”
(Schein, 2004, p. 226). Because of the importance of the power variable to leadership and
cultural development, this paper will look at how leaders use or abuse power and the
affect this use of power has on the culture of an organization.
Culture
The culture of an organization consists of shared beliefs, values, and assumptions
(Schein, 2004). The leader exerts tremendous influence on development, orientation, and
continuation of an organization’s culture (Schein, 2004). The influence of leaders on the
organization is so great that two similar companies, in the same industry will have
different shared beliefs, values, and assumptions. Therefore, successful leaders pay
attention to the rites and artifacts of an organization’s culture and works to either
continue the culture if it is working well or change the it to better meet the needs of the
organization (Schein, 2004).
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Definition of Power
The literature is rife with descriptions of power and how people attain power. An
early description of power comes from French and Raven (1959). These researchers
defined power and categorized it into the following five sources:
 Coercive Power is derived from authority to impose penalties or punishment such
as physical force, salary reduction, or student suspension.
 Reward Power is the authority to deliver something of value to others such as trust,
praise or cooperation.
 Legitimate Power resides in a position, not a person, but gives the person the right
to control employees’ behavior.
 Expert Power is based on a person’s knowledge, skills, education and certification.
 Referent (Role Model) Power is based on the admiration one individual has for
another. (p. 11)
“Leaders typically draw on more than one of these power sources” (Johnson, 2001, p 12).
As different situations arise, different leadership roles may require the use of different
power sources. However, Johnson (2001) states, “U.S. workers are more satisfied and
productive when leaders rely on forms of power that are tied to the person such as expert
and referent power” (p. 12). And, though coercive power may create quick results, it
becomes less effective over time (Johnson, 2001). Therefore, an important leadership and
cultural consideration must be made of the type of power that a leader uses and it must be
grounded in the observation that people don’t leave organizations, they leave managers
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(Kouzes and Posner, 2002). Leaders must recognize that employees are aware of power
and how they relate to the person in power (Johnson, 2001).
Other researchers have written how power relationships affect subordinates in an
organization. The next two power examples demonstrate how followers give power to
managers and how relationships within a company can bestow power.
Griffin (1999) writes about two power principles: belief and fear. Power Principle
#1 is Belief which is based on the employee’s understanding that he or she is being
supervised. This belief is based on the employment compact or the relationship between
employee and supervisor, and it requires the acquiescence of power by the employee.
Power Principle #2 is Fear which is coercive and is manipulated by the supervisor.
Griffin (1999) writes “the starting point in the equation is the strategic or planned use of
space into which the employee is placed” (p. 13). This space is organized so that is
produces a two-way and unbalanced flow of information in which the supervisor controls
the content and the amount of knowledge the employee knows. Griffin (1999) also
suggests that these two forms of power, belief and fear, should not be visible or extreme
because, though compliance will be the result, high productivity or staff retention will not
be sustainable. In addition, surveys of manager trainees found that it is power that drives
many executives and that motivates them for executive activity (Griffin, 1999). In
conclusion, this theory reinforces power and the wielding of power as strategies which
leaders within an organization can use to control subordinates.
Another researcher describes yet another form of attaining power and that is by
association. This is a much more nebulous form of power attainment yet according to
Kleiner (2003), occurs often within organizations. Kleiner (2003) describes this type of
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associative power as the belonging to a core group of people who are respected, popular,
successful, manipulative, or control access to information. These core people can exert
tremendous power within an organization and leaders must recognize their power (values,
beliefs, and attitudes) and work with this group. Kleiner (2003) describes that how this
group attains its power is not through the power of their individual positions, but because
other people within the organization have conferred power upon them. Kleiner (2002)
defines this as “amplification which is the process by which a core group member’s
remarks, actions, and even body language are automatically magnified by his followers”
(p. 91). In addition, he describes this type of core leadership as “the ability to get others
to confer legitimacy on us—and thus to get others to put us in the core group” (p. 89).
Smart leaders within this group also recognize that this legitimacy requires deliberate
attention and design and significant work. An effective leader, therefore, must discover if
a core group exists in an organization, and if so, who is in the membership. Working
against this group’s values and beliefs would be counterproductive (Kleiner, 2003).
So far, we’ve described power as it relates to individuals and how they obtain it,
and power as it relates to employers and its effect on employees. The next section will
look at personal power.
Personal Power
Is the quest for power something that everyone works to attain? Many researchers
write that attaining power can be used as a measure of our success and a means to
furthering that success (Griffin, 1999, Kramer, 2003). Whether power is attained through
personal power sources (French and Raven, 1959), through belief and fear (Griffin,
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1999), or association (Kleiner, 2003), how a person conducts oneself can convey the
presence of power.
A very simple way to convey personal power is by the way one behaves. “One
communicates a sense of personal power by developing authority, accessibility,
assertiveness, a positive image, and solid communication skills” (Haddock, 2005, p. 13).
Haddock (2005) explains each of these items as follows:
 Authority requires a trust in one’s own skills and abilities
 An assertive person wins by influencing, listening, and negotiating so that others
choose to cooperate willingly.
 Accessibility requires networking which increases one’s visibility and gives a
person a valuable circle of people to give and receive support and information.
 Image is created by standing tall, walking proudly, acting confidently, and clearly
stating who and what one does.
 Communication style conveys power by speaking and enunciating clearly,
avoiding slang, jargon, and vocal hesitations, and writing clearly and succinctly.
(p. 13)
Though these may sound simple, following these guidelines can help a person attain
some amount of personal power, closely related to referent power. And, acting
powerfully is seen as a desirable trait in many organizations (Kramer, 2003).
Positive Benefits of Power
Kouzes and Posner (2002) writes that to get power, a leader must give power
away and share power with subordinates which results in higher job fulfillment and
performance. Hence, power can play a positive role in the culture of an organization. An
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effective leader who influences the culture of the organization must possess a high need
for power motivation and a desire to be impactful and influential (McClelland and
Burnham, 2003). The need for power, however, must be disciplined and controlled so
that the leader works toward the benefit of the institution and not to better one self
(explained in more detail in a later section). McClelland and Burnham (2003) states “a
good manager is one who, among other things, helps subordinates feel strong and
responsible, rewards them properly for good performance, and sees that things are
organized so that subordinates feel they know what they should be doing” (p. 120). Other
characteristics successful and powerful managers possess include low affiliation
motivation (willingness to please) and high inhibition (McClelland and Burnham, 2003).
In addition, leaders must be aware of how the messages they both consciously and
unconsciously send are interpreted and how these messages impact the receiver (Kleiner,
2003). Leaders, who lead through power which enable subordinates to do their jobs and
have control over aspects of those jobs, liberate these subordinates to perform their very
best and create opportunities for the organization, employees and clients (Kouzes and
Posner, 2002).
Good to Great Leaders. Using the positive uses of power, Collins (2001)
described characteristics of leaders who took their organizations from good performance
to great performance. He emphasizes the importance to organizations of putting people in
positions of power having the right characteristics and attributes. Here are a few of the
characteristics of great leaders according to Collins (2001):
 Get the right people on the bus and into the right seats, and move the wrong people
off the bus.
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 Confront the difficult facts of the current situation, yet simultaneously focus on
where the company is heading.
 Use the flywheel concept that requires the leader to keep pushing a project until
the breakthrough point and momentum begins.
 Follow the hedgehog concept which requires the leader to focus on one thing only
and do that one thing well.
 Use technology carefully and invest heavily only when it is tied to the hedgehog
concept.
 Create a culture of discipline--disciplined people, disciplined thought, and
disciplined action.
Each of these characteristics and actions require a leader with resolute will and the
influential power to accomplish each action. A leader, who is not focused on the good of
the organization and who is without humility or force of will, cannot move an
organization in any direction (Collins, 2001).
To sum up the positive benefits of personal power, McClelland and Burnham
(2003) state “the manager’s concern for power should be socialized—controlled so that
the institution as a whole, not only the individual, benefits” (p. 126). Great leaders use
their power in ways that garner respect from subordinates and motivate others to work for
the good of the organization (Kouzes and Posner, 2002). Positive use of personal power
of managers and subordinates, therefore, helps an organization successfully accomplish
its mission and goals.
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Negative Consequences of Power
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely (Acton, 1887). This is the
negative consequence of power; some people do not know how to handle power when
placed in a position that gives them the power they have worked so hard to attain. When
power is abused by a leader or manager, research shows that employees may become
confused, uncertain, unable to complete tasks, and become prone to wasting time and
energy talking about or complaining about the organization (Gunn, 2004).
Collins (2001) writes that some people will never be great leaders because
attaining the position of power is all about the fame, fortune, and adulation that come
with the position. Kramer (2003) also states that “there is something about the pursuit of
power that often changes people in profound ways. Indeed, to get to the apex of their
profession, individuals are often forced to jettison certain attitudes and behaviors—the
same attitudes and behaviors they need for survival once they get to the top” (p. 60).
Some of these attitudes and behaviors that get jettisoned include being generous with
praise, quick to recognize others’ achievement, and self-effacing about one’s own
accomplishments (Kramer, 2003).
Some additional symptoms of reckless leadership that can lead to the abuse of
power include the following:
 The leader loses sight of the big picture and spends more time staving off
imminent disaster.
 The leader does not listen to dissenting voices or warnings of doom or disaster.
 The leader enlists the trust and advice of a confidant fending off isolation and
insulation.
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 The leader is in danger of suffering from illusions of grandeur
 The leader becomes greedy and the relentless, competitive quest for power and
status becomes and end in itself.
 The leader fails to stop and evaluate the path both of the organization and of
oneself as well. (Kramer, 2003, p. 65)
According to Kouzes and Posner (2002), “it’s fun to be a leader, gratifying to have
influence, and exhilarating to have scores of people cheering your every word. In many
all-too-subtle ways, it is easy to be seduced by power and importance” (p. 396). The
effect of abusive power on the culture of an organization is negative and creates low
motivation, unhappy employees, and low productivity (Kouzes and Posner, 2002).
In addition, if negative power of individuals or groups is acknowledged and
rewarded in an organization, deceit, inefficiency, moral cowardice, and general
unaccountability can be sanctioned. “The core group reinforces whatever it pays attention
to” (Kleiner, 2003, p. 89) no matter the ethical considerations or outcomes.
Negative use of power creates low production and motivation, a culture that
becomes toxic, and an organization doomed to lack greatness. Yet, many leaders believe
that “power is a fixed sum: if I have more, then you have less” (Kouzes and Posner, 2002,
p. 285) thus defeating the premise that leaders inspire subordinates to do great things and
that by giving away power, the leader gains power (Kouzes and Posner, 2002).
In concluding this section about the negative abuse of power, the importance of
leadership training must not be overlooked. The development of leaders will fail if
administrators approach the training process with control, ownership, and power-oriented
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mind-sets rather than reinforcing the need for leader to share accountability (Ready and
Conger, 2003).
Conclusion
Power, as a leadership trait, affects not only the leaders and employees who wield
it, but it also affects subordinates and followers who benefit or suffer from the wielding
of power. Leaders must recognize the temptation that power leads to and how it affects
their leadership ability, and more importantly, how it affects the people around them. As
this research shows, power is an important leadership trait that when used properly,
creates and maintains a productive work culture. Positive, humble use of power
empowers and motivates employees and improves the greatness of an organization. “It
creates a positive work environment, allowing staff to focus on the job at hand without
distraction—no lost productivity due to gossiping or to conflict between individual needs
and those of the institution” (Gunn, 2004, p.3).
The job of educational leaders is to help prepare upcoming leaders and to
encourage them to become aware of the effects that success and power might have on
their behavior, and consequently, the culture of an organization. Additionally, discussing
power and constructive uses of power must be done. Without frank discussion of the evils
of power, many leaders and organizations are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past
and to create leaders who become power mongers (Kramer, 2003).
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