Often power can be found in people who do not have genuine positions of authority, and at the same time, there are people in positions of authority but are powerless to influence the behavior of others (Goncalves, 2013, p. 2). “Power is the ability to influence others to get things done, while authority is the formal right that comes to a person who occupies a particular position, since power does not necessarily accompany a position” (Goncalves, 2013, p.1). According to the PSU WC lesson commentary (2020), there are five bases of power which are Expert, Referent, Legitimate, Reward, and Coercive power and none of them as we learned are any better than the rest, but its ultimately the situation that determines the power that the leader should use (L.7, p.4).
In his article Goncalves (2013), talks about how businesses in the 21st century must transform themselves and use a whole other leadership paradigm, Imagination (p.3). The author says that using storytelling leaders can justify their reasoning for needing things accomplished, just like people use stories to justify buying Starbucks or a new Apple product (p.3). With the sixth and seventh types of power being charisma and information they will be able to contribute to the leader’s storytelling ability and so they should be considered the more prominent styles (p.3). Not only had the working environment changed dramatically, but the people, particularly professionals, had changed as well. They were coping with inexorable transformations as they fled the farms and flocked to the mill and industrial parks. Hence, under a historic context, what are the main power techniques available today, not for the information age of the latter part of the last century, but rather for the knowledge economy that characterizes this new century (Goncalves, 2013, p.1). And so, as the landscape of business transforms into the future so do the other aspects of leadership such as with the styles of leadership or the types of power used in different situations.
Work Cited:
Goncalves, M. (2013). Leadership Styles: The Power to Influence Others. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(4), 1–3.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2020). PSYCH 485 Lesson 7: Power and Influence. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2040131/modules/items/28001757