The Five Points of Leadership Power

Al Capone once said that “You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than you can with a kind word alone.” However, while almost anyone can use power, it takes skill to use leadership. Leadership power is much more than the use of force. Leadership is influencing others to truly WANT to achieve a goal, while power forces others to achieve a goal.

Power refers to a capacity that a person (boss) has to influence the behavior of another so that he or she acts in accordance with the boss' wishes. This power is a capacity or potential as it implies a potential that need not be actualized to be effective. That is, a power may exist, but does not have to be used to be effective. For example, an officer in the Army has certain powers over enlisted personal, but that power does not have to used to be effective. The mere knowledge of an officer's power by an enlisted person has some influence over him or her.

A person has the potential for influencing five points of power over another (French & Raven, 1959):

Coercive Power — Power that is based on fear. A person with coercive power can make things difficult for people. These are the persons that you want to avoid getting angry. Employees working under coercive managers are unlikely to be committed, and more likely to resist the manager.

Reward Power — Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable. Able to give special benefits or rewards to people. You might find it advantageous to trade favors with him or her.

Legitimate Power — The power a person receives as a result of his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization. The person has the right, considering his or her position and your job responsibilities, to expect you to comply with legitimate requests.

Expert Power — Influence based on special skills or knowledge. This person earns respect by experience and knowledge. Expert power is the most strongly and consistently related to effective employee performance.

Referent Power — Influence based on possession by an individual or desirable resources or personal traits. You like the person and enjoy doing things for him or her.

Definitely in order to be a leader you have to know closely each person around you and you have to demonstrate with actions what you request. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent.

For me you must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know, and what you can do. Also, it is important to know that the followers, not the leader or someone else, are who determines if the leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers that you are worthy of being followed and you have to demonstrate that you have the skills and authority to guide the things in a correctly manner. This article is extremely important because it will help you, as a leader, to manage your people and processes and to know how well you are working and in what areas you can improve to be successful.

Title: Leading & Leadership
Author: French & Raven, 1959.
Date: 11/20/2011
Source: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadled.html 

By Henry Badilla Medina