When I was a kid and thought about the word power, I used to think of a big shot manager ordering his subordinates around with little regard for their feelings. Obviously as a child, my only point of reference for power was from my parents, as they guided me through my childhood. We have all heard the phrase “go clean your room right now or no video games!”, or some variation of that. If you decided to obey your parents and clean your room so you could play video games, they exerted their influence over you. As an adult, we are introduced to all sorts of power and influence every day. There are many different types of power and influence, some of which come from unlikely sources.
Expert power is probably one of the most famous types of power. It is power gained through extensive knowledge on a particular subject. A doctor, for example, has power over his patients when they go to visit him. Why? Because on the subject of health and wellness, they are considered to be the epitome of expertise. We go to him because of their knowledge on the matter. At work, if I have problems with something I’m working on, I go to the engineer who designed it. He is the matter expert, and as a result he has the final say. This type of power is not necessarily relegated to someone of higher rank or pay grade in an organization; it is possible that a coworker can have more knowledge on a particular subject, and in that regard, they would have expert power.
Referent power is a little more vague of a concept. If I look up to my boss as inspiration and use him as a personal guide for who I want to be, he has referent power over me. Someone can be my superior and have zero referent power over me, simply because I may not look up to him or her. As a child, many of us look up to our parents for what we want to be when we grow up. Little boys may look to their father as a role model and use him to base their personality. As a young child, I had a stepfather through all of my school years, and while not intentional, as an adult I see a lot of his personality within me. He was my role model growing up, and it shows in how I view the world and react to it.
During my time in the military, I got very used to the idea of legitimate power. Rank and position is everything in the military, so if anyone of higher rank says to do something, your only response better be “yes sir” or yes ma’am”. Legitimate power is purely based on rank or position within an organization, and I certainly had superiors in the Air Force that had legitimate power, but in no way had good leadership characteristics.
Reward power is a function of one’s ability to influence based on the capability to grant some sort of reward. An example of this would be a boss offering a bonus at work for the employee with the most sales. Certainly, that individual has reward power over those competing for that reward. In my time in the working world, I can’t say I’ve had much experience with reward power, though that is not to say that reward power comes solely from superiors. My wife hates to drive to work in the morning since she is tired, so I offer to drive, in exchange for her driving home at night, since I hate driving in the heavier rush hour traffic. This is an example of reward power, in that I allow her the chance to sleep in the car in the mornings, in exchange for being able to rest in the car at night.
Coercive power is, simply put, power through fear. Parents are probably a great example of power through fear, in that they have the capability to take away the freedoms of their children, to an extent of course. Didn’t do your homework? No television tonight. Talked back to your grandparents? Grounded for a week.
So the big question in all of this is, which type of power is the most useful in an organization? From personal experience, having a boss that I feel comfortable going to with not just work-related issues, but also with personal things as well, always makes me strive to work harder for that boss. Conversely, bosses that flaunt their rank around, all while having no idea how to motivate their employees, garner no respect and therefore a workforce that is less willing to work hard. Power that is earned is far better to work for from the perspective of an employee. As a (hopefully) future manager, if I could choose which type of power to have, besides simply having the organizational rank of manager or boss, it would be both expert and referent power. There is no substitute for having the respect of your team, as well as having the knowledge to help them through tough situations. Having great knowledge helps to earn respect. If respect is earned, then influence will surely follow. Having influence over your employees is the single most important attribute an employer or manager can have, in my opinion.
References:
PSU World Campus (2013). PSYCH 485 Lesson 7: Power and Influence. Retrieved on October 13, 2013 from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa13/psych485/001/content/07_lesson
AUBREY SHINHOLSTER says
I agree with your post of expert power being one of the most famous types of power, but I have always thought of it as a more passive type of power. Expert power does not provide direct power over you, except when the situation in in their narrow band of influence. For instance, a doctor can tell you to take a certain medicine or change your life in a certain way, but that doctor cannot force you to do these actions. Compare this to legitimate power (like your time in the military), where a superior officer or NCO can actually force you to take the medicine. In the workplace expert power likely provides enough power to influence behavior, because the impact of changes affect other people and the organization. For instance, a consulting firm comes into a company and provides a list of actions for the company to improve performance. The expert power of the consulting firm would not force anyone at the company to adopt the new behaviors, but the legitimate power of the leadership would force the staff to adopt the changes.
AUBREY SHINHOLSTER says
I agree with your post of expert power being one of the most famous types of power, but I have always thought of it as a more passive type of power. Expert power does not provide direct power over you, except when the situation in in their narrow band of influence. For instance, a doctor can tell you to take a certain medicine or change your life in a certain way, but that doctor cannot force you to do these actions. Compare this to legitimate power (like your time in the military), where a superior officer or NCO can actually force you to take the medicine. In the workplace expert power likely provides enough power to influence behavior, because the impact of changes affect other people and the organization. For instance, a consulting firm comes into a company and provides a list of actions for the company to improve performance. The expert power of the consulting firm would not force anyone at the company to adopt the new behaviors, but the legitimate power of the leadership would force the staff to adopt the changes.