Do you think power is a good thing when it comes to leadership? It is nice to have power but it can also become a bad thing too. When is power to much? In my opinion if power is making your people less productive or less tolerant of you as a leader maybe you need to change styles. Don’t be on a power trip or power hungry.
Have you ever witnessed a person in a leadership role that always had the “I’m the boss mentality”? Think about the leader that pounds their chest that they have power over you. If you stray from the orders of such leadership, chances are there are repercussions. Yes, the leader may have greater power over you, but does it really make you work harder? Chances are not really. Those types of leaders are good at creating fear in a way for production. If the leaders gives too much power to their followers they are left powerless themselves.
Take a moment and envision a leader that influences you to be the most productive, one that brings out the best in your every move. In a 2017 Forbes article Kuhel stated “influence leaders serve as mentors inspiring others” bringing the best out of their followers”. The use of power diminishes others; the practice of influence enlarges them (Kuhel, 2017). Whether you are in the workforce already or still in school we can agree that working for a leader that gives us inspiration and influence is easier to work for then one that belittles you to feel powerless. When you are comfortable you are more likely to be at your best then if you are afraid of the outcome. Influence leaders appear to be much more empowering then those of strong leadership. I know I want to work for that influential leader.
As we are all aware no one is perfect and unfortunately, we tend to make mistakes, even leaders. A leader that uses influence can take each mistake and turn it into a lesson for future action. The aim of both managers and leaders is to accomplish an organization’s goals (Bacon, 2011). Managers do it through plans, organization, processes, task assignments, measurements, and so on, but they must also direct people and manage their performance, and you can’t manage people solely through command-and-control methods (Bacon, 2011).
Look at the photo below from Bacon (2011).
The leader has a pleasant expression on her face and appears to be influencing the followers on task. The followers are in tune with what the follower is directing. This photo shows how influence a leader has on followers can be successful.
Now, imagine being a follower under this leader that seems to tower above you.
This is one of those “I am the boss and you’ll do as I say or else” leaders. Do you have respect for this type of leader? This type of strong leader may work for some people, but most would be reluctant to ask questions, afraid to make a mistake, and can’t wait for the task or day to end. Out of the two examples which leader would you be more productive and want to work for? I would go out on a limb and say it is the first example.
In conclusion, it would appear that influence is over power. Power is a needed part of leadership in that you can’t have followers controlling the leader, but too much power is not going to make productive followers as influence will. Step up and be an influencer to your followers and you will see results.
Resources:
Kuhel, B. (2017, November 02). Council Post: Power Vs. Influence: Knowing The Difference Could Make Or Break Your Company. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/11/02/power-vs-influence-knowing-the-difference-could-make-or-break-your-company/
Bacon. (2011). Home. Retrieved October 25, 2020, from http://www.theelementsofpower.com/index.cfm/power-and-influence-blog/influence-and-leadership/
bgw5114 says
I do agree that positive influence tactics will generate a better outcome for a group than ridged power tactics. Influence is the change in one’s attitudes, values, beliefs or behaviors using influence tactics which are one’s behaviors designed to change another’s attitude, beliefs, values or behaviors (PSU WC, 2016, L.7 p. 2). Power on the other hand is (House, 1984) the “capacity to produce effects of others” or the (Bass, 1990) “potential to influence others” (Hughes et al. 1993) It is up to the leader to determine what influence tactics to use to motivate the team. When someone has power in an organization it is typically legitimate power, because they have been assigned to a particular role in the organization (Hughes, Ginnett, Curphy, 1993). Take a supervisor for example they have been assigned to a role and have a team that is expected to meet certain expectations. The way the supervisor gets the team to meet those expectations can vary, using influence tactics. If there is a project that has a deadline and the leader is not sure that it can be met, they may use consultation influence tactics. Consultation tactics are when the supervisor would ask team members to participate in the planning process (PSU WC, 2016, L.7 p. 6). When team members feel that they have a say in how to achieve the goal they would be more willing to put in the effort to make it happen. I agree that not all leaders use positive influence tactics, some use pressure tactics to get the job done. Pressure tactics are threats or reminders to the follower that a bonus may be taken away if they do not comply with the leader’s request (PSU WC, 2016, L.7 p. 6). This type of influence can still produce the desired results, but the followers will not be happy, causing team morale to diminish. I do agree that leading with positive influence tactics will make followers more productive, it is up to the leader to decide when to use their power and when and how to influence.
I would disagree with “the use of power diminishes others; the practice of influence enlarges them”. Yes, if the leader is using power in a negative way it would diminish others, but there are positive ways to use power. For example, expert power, this is having power of knowledge over the group and can influence others (PSU WC, 2016, L.7 p. 4). If the leader has expert power, they can help the group learn and expand their knowledge. If they don’t share their knowledge and let the group struggle to find answers this would be a miss use of this power. Leaders with legitimate power are there for group member support and to direct them to what needs to be done. Power and influence are closely related and either one can be miss used, when this happens group cohesiveness will diminish, and group results will be deficient.
References:
Hughes, R., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (1993). Power and influence. In Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (pp. 107–131). Irwin. Retrieved from: https://reserve-libraries-psu-edu.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/psych/485/48501.pdf
Pennsylvania State University (2016). Leadership in work. Module 7: Power and Influence Retrieved from: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/canvas/fa20/22081–15503/content/08_lesson/printlesson.html
slc88 says
The “I am the boss” attitude towards followers becomes very intimidating, and it isn’t a good team-building practice. The followers will follow out of fear and not out of the desire to please the leader or complete the job. When a boss takes the approach that “I am the boss,” that makes followers Disgruntled, affecting the organization’s turnover rate.
Susie Tran says
I really enjoy reading your blog. Indeed, when the power reduce the effectiveness and performance then it is bad. Power makes people into discipline and responsible for their jobs. Power is needed in workplace and in real life to make things in order and to make sure things are in progress toward the goals. To me, I think that “I am the boss” thinking is necessary but it should not be too much. It should be enough that make people have the motivation and influence them to work not to scare them. Scare people with the “I am the boss” would not make them commit to the work and might not be truly productive. “I am the boss” should make people respect the leadership and have motivated by them to work. “I am the boss” should be friendly to cooperate with the people but it also should be boss enough for people to respect leaders.