Ldr 300 - Leadership and Power
Autor: Zulma Garcia • May 18, 2016 • Research Paper • 571 Words (3 Pages) • 1,333 Views
Leadership and Power
LDR/300
Leadership and Power
What is power? What is influence? Do these have anything to do with leadership? This paper will describe power and explain how it relates to leadership. It will also describe the various types of power. Finally, it will discuss the relationship between influence and power.
According to the textbook, “Power refers to a capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so B acts in accordance with A’s wishes” (Judge & Robbins, 2014). An example of power would be a child wanting ice cream. To get the ice cream, the child has to do the chores that the parent has told them to complete. The parent has the power over the child, the child will not get the ice cream until the parent says so. Power and leadership go hand in hand. One can be in power and not be a leader but one cannot be a leader without power (The Role of Power in Effective Leadership, 2008).
There are two types of power: formal and personal, these two are then broken down into smaller categories. Formal power is formed on ones ranking in an organization. Coerce power depends on the fear of negative results from not complying (Judge & Robbins, 2014). An example would be someone having the power to demote an individual if a certain task is not completed. The opposite of coerce is reward power. Because of the benefits or rewards upon completing a task, an individual will do their best, so that they can get that day off or that pay raise. Legitimate power is the power that a leader receives due to his position in a business; because of his responsibilities he has more power than his workers (Legitimate Power and Its Uses, 2016).
Referent and expertise are the two bases of personal power. Personal power comes from one’s personality. Referent is the power to express a sense of personal approval. People with this power have positive characteristics like integrity and charisma (Giang, 2013). Expertise power is power because of knowledge, expertise, or specific skill. People are dependent on these individuals because of their expertise. These people with power are the doctors, psychiatrists, accountants, and other specialists that hold this power because of their knowledge (Judge & Robbins, 2014).
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