Many job positions come with an impression of power due to title, job description and higher management expectations. In the past, leading by means of using power and position was the standard to influencing employee thinking and motivation. Power and position in a coercive means were the primary focus to meet the organization’s intended output or goal. Using power and position in an expert manner was also a method of influencing followers or members perceptions to achieve a desired end state (Northouse, 2016, p. 10). Moving from the past in to the present has been a huge challenge, but extremely rewarding for leaders in powerful positions.
Remembering when I first started my job, my leaders used their power to influence our young minds to complete tasks by using their positions to wield power over us (Northouse, 2016, p. 10). They would use punishment or corrective training to reinforce our actions to complete the task. When a member would deviate or not finish a portion in time, then a form of physical correction was administered with the intend being that “pain equals intelligence”. If a member finished ahead of time without error, then the correction would be a reward, typically a time-off award which we all desired and gave way to the influential traits that we all began to learn (Williams, 2018).
Positions of leadership during the early years were associated with reward and coercive power styles that had very clear lines between success and failure. The greater the accomplishment or success of the tasks, the greater the power the leader felt they had on us. Unfortunately, the same was felt if the failure was great as well. More attention was given to teaching leaders how to be leaders that met with excellent results where teams began to have a shared or team leadership.
Now, we get to work in a team where we have a shared power to be a leader and influence each other in the team which promotes a greater chance of ideas working to complete the task or reaching the end state of the project successfully. Leaders of today are learning how to differentiate between personalized power where the leader has a high need for personalized power and selfish based goals to learning socialized power which expresses the service of the higher goal to others and empowering others to work together to the end product (Williams, 2018).
Influencing tactics are not being taught to help leaders pay attention to how they are influencing others (Williams, 2018). Ingratiation is an excellent example of a tactic that our leaders are now employing to get us help us get into a good mood to promote the best ideas to achieve the goal (Williams, 2018). Leaders have learned to watch us and learn our best assets for the team which insights them to use personal appeal to enhance the relationship in a positive manner (Williams, 2018). Our leaders also used pressure tactics in a good way to promote time on target projects and teamwork by stating if the project meets a certain expectation then a time-off award or promotion awards will be given to the team members even a pizza party (Williams, 2018). Our team projects have better team member productivity with a better-quality product to meet the company’s mission goals and customer satisfaction.
Needing leaders to guide teams has always been important, otherwise the task may not get completed or the teams may fall apart. Learning how power plays a huge part in leading team members, either negatively or positively, can influence a project’s outcome – good or bad. Teaching leaders’ tactics to help build creative teams is key to a company’s long-term success and customer happiness for years to come. Great leaders learn to use their power to influence team members that build cohesion and motivation which makes for much happier employees and winning products. From the beginning of leadership of reward and coercion to leadership with tactics from both the leader and the followers, leadership has changed into a team leadership process where everyone learns from each other and build great products or reach the end state with victory.
Reference:
Northouse, Peter G. (2016). Chapter 1: Introduction. Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc. Pages 1-18.
Williams, Jason. (2018). PSYCH 485 Lecture Notes. Module Lesson 7: Power and Influence. Penn State Canvas Online Course. Retrieved on 04 November from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1942231/modules/items/25010846.
Morgan Emig says
It is definitely not news that leaders in the past used their power over their followers. This power was more results driven rather than focusing on the follower’s needs, which you touched on. I feel as if there are specific imperatives between then and now when it comes to power and influence in leadership.In the past, results had to trump everything and you had to finish the project on time. You had to hit the goals if you wanted to be recognized. Data ruled and you had to know your facts while working in a systematic manner. Today, leaders look beyond a deadline and seem to care more about coaching followers to reach their goals. They communicate more effectively and give back. Power in leadership today accepts that some mistakes may happen on the way to a real breakthrough which means options are provided for people to work when and where they are most productive.
However, it is also important to touch on the fact that not ALL of today’s leaders in a power position are positive or care about their followers.Unfortunately, some still have the old school mindset and only care about the followers who hit specific goals.