“Power is defined as the capacity to produce effects on others, or the potential to influence others. Influence is defined as the change in a target agent’s attitudes, values, beliefs or behaviors as a result of influence tactics. Those acts considered to be influence tactics are one person’s actual behaviors designed to change another person’s beliefs, attitudes, values or behaviors.” (Grabarek, Lesson #7) With all that in mind, there are five ways with which a supposed leader can influence his/her followers utilizing the power and influence approach to leadership. One of those five is referent power. Referent power, dubbed the most abstract of the five types, is “the potential influence one has due to the strength of the relationship between the leader and his/her followers”. (Grabarek) It is termed abstract because, unlike the other methods, it cannot be quantified with tangible things like degree of knowledge, positions held, threats or compensation. So, we know it is a type of power utilized to influence behaviors but, what is the method by which someone obtains referent power? I have experienced two different leadership situations in my life where I believe my supposed leader utilized referent power to influence his followers. Each situation, however, resulted in me identifying a different source from which the referent power was obtained. This is definitely consistent with the two different interpretations of referent power that I have seen.
One interpretation makes referent power highly dependent on the relationship that exists between leader and follower. As stated in Psych. 485 involving the Power and Influence approach to leadership, “Referent power takes time to develop.” (Grabarek) It is therefore seemingly reliant on the two way, back and forth relationship between a leader and his/her follower. This is very similar to the LMX (Leader-Member Exchange) Theory of leadership effectiveness. The supposed reverence that one or many followers gain for their leader, which is created and sustained over time, will only be realized if there is a positive relationship or interaction between the leader and his/her followers. I have experienced this type of leadership effectiveness in dealing with the president of our union at my place of employment. His use of referent power to ultimately influence the members of our association inevitably became more effective, as he gained more time in the position. Initially, there were feelings of uneasiness and hesitation by most of my coworkers when they were asked to put their faith in him when, at the time, he was very new to the position. However, as time went on and we were became aware of his knowledge, ability and determination, most members became very comfortable with him making decisions for the group as a whole.
Another interpretation of referent power states that, “The source of referent power is the referent’s personal qualities.” (Muchinsky, pg.402) This interpretation is clearly tied to a completely different approach to leadership than the first interpretation. This interpretation mimics the Trait approach to leadership, which states a leader’s supposed effectiveness is heavily reliant on his/her possessing inherent traits or qualities. This interpretation somewhat counters the idea of a leader and his/her followers needing to establish and sustain a relationship over time, since the followers feelings of reverence are only based on the traits that they inherently see in their supposed leader. I think we have all, at one time or another, been able to bear witness to this type of leadership situation, where we feel compelled or drawn to a person solely because of the traits or qualities we see in them that they possess. They are considered role models or people we look up to. I have definitely had instances where I was influenced by a leader because I looked up to them because of the character person they signified or exemplified. This is, however, a completely different dynamic of referent power than we see in the first instance. This type is not dependent at all on the relationship between the two roles, but rather the inherent make-up of the leader alone.
Whatever the source, referent power is most certainly a preferred method of power that can be utilized to influence a leader’s followers. Why? One simple answer is effective leaders should ensure that they utilize all of their power sources. Two researchers on the topic made this exact determination after completing a study on gender differences and their relation to to power use, “They concluded that power seems to grow incrementally through the accumulation of multiple resources over the span of a career.” (Muchinsky, pg.403) How does this relate to referent power? “Leaders with high amounts of referent power have built up close relationships with followers and may be able to use a wide variety of influence tactics.” (Grabarek) Effective leadership is therefore accomplished when a supposed leader taps into all of his available resources while trying to influence or motivate his followers. In the end though, I think you could argue, that there could be a couple of completely separate leader-follower interactions that would ultimately result in a supposed leader utilizing referent power.
References
Muchinsky, Paul M. (2013) Psychology Applied to Work. Hypergraphic Press. Summerfield, NC.
Grabarek, Patricia. Psych. 485 Leadership in Work Settings. PSU World Campus. Lesson #7 Power and Influence.