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Tangible rewards: Salary increases, bonuses, or promotions are examples of tangible rewards. Tangible rewards often have a limit, which exposes the vulnerability of this power source. The individual giving out the rewards may have to answer to others or may not have the authority to provide continual tangible rewards. Intangible rewards: These are an effective alternative to tangible rewards, whereby praise and positive encouragement via communication is given to people as a motivator or reward to be compliant. Direct coercion: This type of coercion is deliberate. The threat of punishment from a leader is experienced by means of salary decreases or demotions, for example. Indirect coercion: This type of coercion manifests in ways that are subtler than direct coercion. For example, an employee may begin to work overtime leading up to bonus rewards or salary negotiations. In this instance, the employee is being coerced to do this because of a potential benefit they may receive on the horizon.
Persuading and influencing as a leader
Effective influencing comes from understanding the context of the situation or person you are trying to influence. It is important to adapt your style accordingly. We can draw on the contextual understanding we've developed earlier to identify appropriate influencing strategies.
"Power" as a concept is difficult for leaders to grapple with. Sometimes, women see power as problematic—has a negative connotations. It is important to think about how we can see power both positive and negative, reflect on that.
Power is not about title.
When think about "Power" be aware of the value that you add, not just in terms of the hard metrics. Use this as source of power to create value for your team and organization. When think about power dynamics, it is not just about who routinely seems to win in meetings. According to Stephen Lukes there are different dimensions of power.
"Who is shaping the agenda (first dimension), and what is left out of the agenda and who is benefiting from it (second dimension)" (Lukes, S, 2005)
Within an organization, we are not just networked, but also entangled. We have emotional relationships. We are dealing with people's reputations and social capital.
Power is something you have, not something that was given. It is a function of relationships you build.
Source of power
Power does not simply derive from a position or title. Rather, power is situational and can manifest in different ways, which influences how it impacts circumstances and interactions. Identifying and understanding the sources of power used by leaders – and assessing the value that each source of power brings – can foster self-awareness and help to develop effective leadership skills.
What is power?
Power, in a generalised sense, is the ability to influence or change another’s behaviour or alter a course of events (Cocivera, 2017). As a leader, it is possible for you to have power because of your position or title but still lack the ability to influence those around you, vice versa, it is possible to have power without a title, or position. (Note: many very high level ICs operates in this area.) Acknowledging your power as a leader and using it to positively influence those around you rather than to manipulate and control others fosters effective leadership (Kuhel, 2017). The relationship between power and influence is therefore cyclical, and as much as you can derive power and influence others, their influence on you forms part of your leadership development.
Source of power in an organizational context
Positional power (direct power) derives from your status or ranking in a hierarchy and is therefore sometimes based on a position of weakness because your authority diminishes if people do not view you as someone who can carry out threats or provide rewards (etimes2, 2019).
Personal power (indirect power) is people-focused, and leaders who use this power source have a degree of emotional intelligence and social skills (etimes2, 2019).
Effective leader use a combination of positional and personal power in the workplace. Below is an overview of categories of power sources and what they consist of
Sources of power in an organisation. (Adapted from: French & Raven, 1959)
Positional power
Legitimate power
Legitimate power derives from the belief that an individual has the right to enforce rules and expect compliance from others. This type of power can be generated from forms of social hierarchy, elections, or cultural normalcies or structures that assign legitimacy to an individual or group. This assigned power is unstable, as it can disappear or be stripped away at any moment (MindTools, n.d.).
Reward power
This type of power is based on a system that rewards or compensates others for their ability to comply and follow instructions. Reward power depends on a positive exchange between compliance and awards for the leader to maintain their power source (French & Raven, 1959). If the reward lose their value, the power of the individual giving out the rewrds weakens.(MindTools, n.d).
(Expert program management, 2017)
Coercive power
Coercive power can be seen as one of the more negative bases of power. It manifests from the belief that a person can manipulate or punish another for lack of compliance. This form of power can be abused, and at times, the use of manipulation or punishment may not have the appropriate justification.
Sometimes, the distinction between reward power and coercive power can become blurry, as one could argue that withholding a reward is effectively an act of punishment (French & Raven, 1959). However, the distinction between reward power and coercive power is slightly more psychological. Reward power positively influence people vs. in contrast, coercive power creates a system of dependency between the individual in power and the compliant party (French & Raven, 1959). For example, if a leader and employee have a coercive power dynamic, the employee may be constantly watched and micromanaged to ensure compliance or that the change the leader desires is made by the employee.
Despite the potential negative impacts of coercive power, this type of power can work to regulate and prevent damaging behaviours in an environment, such as insubordination or harassment in organizational contexts (etimes2, 2017).
Personal Power
Referent power
Referent power stems from a follower’s desire for an identification or association with the leader. This power is given to the leader by their followers, hence it is a personal power and not a positional power (Expert program management, 2017). In the workplace, referent power can have positive effects on the organisation as it encourages employees to model positive behaviours (Expert Program Management, 2017). Referent power becomes limited when an organisation has a strong culture that can essentially override the leader’s power.
Expert power
Expert power is the use of expertise and knowledge to get others to follow instructions (Expert program management, 2017). The strength of this power source comes from a person’s high-level skills and knowledge. The limitations of this power arise when leaders are regarded as having superior knowledge only in very specific areas (French & Raven, 1959). However, there is opportunity to expand one’s cognitive influence into other areas through building a reputation and having effective leadership skills (MindTools,n.d.). Expert power diminishes whenever knowledge or expertise is shared with others. In the workplace, a manager or leader could lose expert power as employees gain new skills and get promoted (Expert program management, 2017).
Informational power
Informational power is a power source that French and Raven added years after they established the first five bases mentioned above. Informational power arises when a person is in possession of and controls information needed by others. This is a short-term power source, as information is eventually shared with those who seek it (Giang, 2013). This power is short term.
Access to specific information can also be used in a positive way to help people or to create value in a situation (MindTools, n.d.). For example, a person may know of another’s imminent dismissal from their job and may provide them with this information so they can find a new role at another company before they are dismissed.
Other power sources
Connection power: This is closely related to effective networking. A leader gains connection power through associateion or relationships with other individuals who have power and influence
Resource power: This power source is similar to legitimate power in that a leader has legitimate control over resources (Abudi, 2011).
Person power: This power source (not to be confused with personal power) refers to one’s gender, height, nationality, and other identifying factors, and creates power in a context.
Presence power: An individual’s ability to make themselves be “seen” or noticed by others encompasses presence power.
Resources
References
etimes2. 2017. Coercive power in the workplace. Available: (2022, April 8).
etimes2. 2019. Engaging leadership: Person power versus position power. Available: (2019, May 16)
Expert program management. 2017. Expert power in the workplace. Available: (2022, April 8).
French, J.R. & Raven, B. 1959. The bases of social power. Available: (2022, April 8).
Lukes, S. 2005. Three-dimension of power. In Power: A radical view. 2nd ed. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
MindTools. n.d. French and Raven’s five forms of power. Available: [2019, May 15].
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