Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, Steve Jobs, and Warren Buffet are all examples of individuals throughout history that have possessed the ability to influence others. Regardless of whether or not you agree with their ideology, it is this influential ability that ultimately placed them in a position of power. Now you might be thinking that power must then equal influence, however, this is not true. This is a misconception that leads many organizations down the wrong path when they are hiring managers, team leaders or are attempting to fill other positions of power.
If power and influence aren’t the same thing, what is the difference? If you are given power, you have the ability to influence others, but that does not mean you can or will (PSU WC, L7, 2016). However, if you are able to influence others you already have power over them (PSU WC, L7, 2016). Take a moment to think of someone in your workplace who is in a position of power but does not do a good job of managing others. Then think of someone who is also in a position of power but does an excellent job of managing others. This should help you to understand why power does not equal influence.
When an organization is looking to hire someone into a position of power, they should therefore seek individuals who are skilled at influencing others. Leaders cannot simply utilize the same techniques throughout all levels of the organization (Jeffrey Pfeffer, 2011). For example, subordinates must be approached differently than bosses. Job applicants should therefore be assessed using the nine influence tactics detailed below (PSU WC, L7, 2016):
- Rational persuasion – uses facts and logic to influence others
- Inspirational appeals – utilizes people’s emotions
- Consultation – ask others for help
- Ingratiation – make positive change to individual’s mood, then ask for something
- Personal appeals – ask for a favor due to friendship
- Exchange – if you help me, I will help you in return
- Coalition tactics – group of individuals work together to influence someone
- Pressure tactics – threats
- Legitimizing tactics – uses position of authority to persuade others
It is important to hire individuals who can properly analyze situations, including who they are attempting to influence, so the wrong tactic is not executed, thus negatively impacting the organization. If we examine the hierarchy of an organization, this issue would have a much greater impact if the CEO rather than a lower level manager consistently uses the wrong tactics.
In addition to the significance of the influence tactics mentioned above, it is equally important that the individual selected for a position of power does not misuse that power. Clearly this is a much harder aspect to assess in job applicants. A need for personalized power, using power solely for one’s own personal benefit, could be highly counterproductive to the goals of the organization (PSU WC, L7, 2016). Also, individuals who rely on coercive power and continually pressure and threaten employees into compliance may experience high turnover.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, Steve Jobs, and Warren Buffet were all influential individuals who later obtained positions of power (i.e. President or CEO). If they been thrown into those positions before they had the opportunity to learn and demonstrate their ability to influence others, they quite possibly may have failed. Perhaps slavery, inequality or a lack of technology would still exist in the world today. Therefore, organizations must assess all candidates for positions of power to ensure they will properly use influence tactics and will not misuse the power they are given. In the end it is the ability to influence others that provides them with power, not the other way around.
References
Hughes, Richard, et al. (2013). Power and Influence. Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience. Homewood, IL. Irwin. Ch. 5. pp. 107-131.
Jeffrey Pfeffer: Power and Influence in the Collaborative Age. (2011). Retrieved February 23, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXGQqwVb018.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2016). PSYCH 485 Lesson 07: Power and Influence.
Wendi Wright-Davis says
What a good post! I agree that the definition of power and influence theory of leadership suggests that the idea of leadership is based on the arrangement of relationships between people rather than on the skills of a single person. The power and influence theory of leadership sees a system of interaction between people, shaped by the power and influence deriving from the leader. Leadership and followership are products of the movement of power between individuals.
Steve Jobs was a perfect example because he had a great influence on his employees. If there was one thing that he had it was confidence and it was something that gave his team members the self-assurance they needed to break barriers and create some of the most innovative pieces of technology in our world today.
Nicole Laborante Phoenix says
I thought this was a very interesting post. I agree with you that power and influence are two very different things. I recently watched a documentary on Steve Jobs and I will agree with you that this was a person whom had great influence. This is what contributed to his success and then provided him power. It was his influence on people that got the ball rolling to accomplishing what he wanted done.
I also agree with you that when hiring someone an organization should look for someone that can influence others. There are many people whom have the power but lack the influence and those people tend to not make it in their roles very long. On the side of influence if someone possesses this characteristic they can really elevate, inspire and mobilize people to get moving toward their goal. “Influence is the change in a target agent’s attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors as a result of influence tactics”(Lesson 7:Power & Influence, 2016, p. 3).
References
PSYCH485: Leadership in Work Settings. (2016). In (Comp.), Lesson 7: Power & Influence (pp. 1-11). World Campus: Penn State. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/sp16/psych485/002/content/07_lesson/10_page.html
Megan Augusta Horner says
This is a very interesting discussion on the difference between power and influence. I believe that many people often combine the two and assume they are the same thing or that one equals the other. However, it is clearly stated here and backed up that neither is true. Power does not mean influence. If you have power you have the ability to influence people but it does not necessarily mean that you can or will.
There are loads of people out there that are in a position of power and in order to do their jobs effectively must influence others but don’t or can’t. So it does make sense that when companies are hiring people they should look for people who are able to influence others.
For some reason bits and pieces of the nine influence tactics described above reminds me of the factors associated with transformational leadership behaviors. Transformational leadership in one of the three types of leadership in the approach, the other two being transactional and laissez-faire. I feel as if the inspirational appeals and exchange can relate with factors that define transformational leadership such as inspirational motivation (use emotional appeals to focus followers) and individualized consideration (provide supportive environment and listen to needs of followers).
Bits and pieces also come from transactional leadership behaviors if you looking deeper and comparing the concepts of power and influence to the transformational leadership approach. For example, pressure tactics and legitimizing tactics (from the nine influence tactics described above) can relate to the management-by-exception factor. The management-by-exception factor involves using your title to provide corrective criticism, negative feedback, and negative reinforcement.
It’s interesting how these different lessons collide with each other. As well as how much really pops out at you after reading one lesson and comparing it with another.