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For the purpose of our report we have decided to specifically look firstly at the concepts of power, influence and leadership as a partnership. Then, at the five different forms of power, commonly used by leaders today. We will identify and explain each one individually, then go on recognize the role of leadership power exercised y leaders from the Royal Society leadership website (RSN) and acknowledge commonalities and differences between them.
Research shows that referent power often results in subordinate loyalty to the leader and in most cases this is the most effective form of leadership, however, the effectiveness of any power depends upon the skill and appropriateness with which it is used. Leaders should exercise authority politely and clearly and verify compliance. (Yuk, & Table 1983) All sources of power come with flaws, however, many have aspects of leadership that work well within certain organizations.
This report will voice our personal opinion on which source of power we believe to be the most effective at influencing followers in a positive way that enables the leaders to get the most out of those who follow them. Literature Review Of the literature we have reviewed there are common themes and approaches in relation to power and leadership. Many leaders are now finding that there is a diminishing use of power relating to their position/rank. “The traditional power that derives from one’s position in a hierarchy has been lost.
But in its place, a very different kind of leadership power has begun to emerge. This new power is doted in a leader’s personal values and convictions… ” (Acting from the centre) Machines and Travailing refer to this type of power as ‘Legitimate power. It has been said that “today’s leaders must rely on core values to keep the organization centered and balanced” (acting from the centre), perhaps this is why a traditional approach of leaders relying solely on their position to influence followers no longer stands for much today.
Leaders must adopt a strategy that in turn gains the respect of followers by leading through exemplary behavior and standing for values that are communicated openly and often with others. John Gillespie, former CEO and vice president of operations at Innovation Luggage, Causes, says the following: “I found that if I wanted people to follow me, I had to be the first person to take risks and work without a safety net under me”. (Acting from the centre) It is through actions such as this that leaders gain the respect of followers and in turn gain what is known as ‘referent power’. Machines & Travailing, 2007, p. 359). Like many other leaders, Don Make, vice president of quality assurance, has had to face the following question: “how can they (leaders) help others in the organization evolve so that they, too, reflect and embody those values (Acting from the centre) This tie’s in with the ideas of referent and expert power; when followers hold respect for a leader they are more willing to believe in their expertise and ideas, “leaders empower their followers” (Hickman & Johnson, 2009).
Make believes in this concept of respect and gaining referent power over followers. As a leader he personally looked “for managers who wanted to get on the shop floor, communicate with people and learn”… He believes “you can’t manage change from a distance”. (Acting from the centre) Referent rower can be linked to a concept such as ‘value-centered leadership’. “Value- centered leaders look within and guide their actions accordingly”. Acting from the centre) “Essentially, this is about earning the right and respect to lead through direct individual involvement and action” (Koshers, J. M. , & Poster, B. Z. , 2002). Leaders who put this concept into practice are said to have a leadership style that “is grounded in the beliefs” they hold to “make decisions about people and strategy’. (Acting from the centre) Values are derived knowing they will develop the organization not hinder it. These values should then be turned into actions i. E. Walking the talk’, and making it known to your employees that “you’re not offering… A cure-all that represents the “right” way or the “safe” way to do things. You simply have chosen to lead with these values in the face of uncertainty… ” (Acting from the centre) An opposing view suggests power is just merely an image. “Powerful people are not born powerful. Rather, powerful people have a talent for traumatizing, communicating, using, and exploiting whatever resources they process. Being powerful is a skill”. The power image) If a leader only has ‘skills’ that make them appear to be powerful, people will eventually see straight through this and they will not view them as legitimate leader nor will they respect them. Therefore this ‘leader will not really have any legitimate power to fall back on or use to positively influence followers. Leaders that hold power such as that of the referent, legitimate and expert types can be categorized as being socialized and authentic leaders. “Socialized and authentic leaders… Re other-oriented and work to empower followers in an effort to achieve collective goals”. (Journal of business ethics) Common themes thin this literature favor such leaders that gain the respect of followers and in turn hold power that they use in a positive way. Unlike those leaders who abuse their authoritative position, and rely on coercive power to “gain respect through instilling fear”. (The power image) It is appears that those leaders who are ‘socialized and authentic’ achieve much more success as they are able to get followers onside and work toward a common vision.
Method To gather the necessary information required for this report, we were to research online on the RSN website, (http:// RSN. Leadership. Org) to find he seven video interviews of well-known New Zealand leaders, to hear their discussions and thoughts on leadership. This method required us to watch all seven videos and take notes on the parts we felt may be relevant for our report. In a group of six, it made sense to delegate the tasks of video watching down to easy manageable parts, for everyone to complete in their own time and bring back to the group at a later date.
We had one group member assigned to research and present a discussion on all the different forms of leadership and provide two video examples from the RSN website, other members were legated two interviews each and asked to choose which form of leader their person was and to write about it, giving detailed examples, a final member f the group was responsible for the writing the introduction, executive summary, and literature review and all other bits and pieces to tie the report in as one. When all the assigned roles were completed we meet as a group to piece them together in an appreciate way that followed well together.
Results and Discussion It is important to note that with the constant evolution of our society, leadership has become more significant than ever before. In any organization that has been created by people there has always been a struggle for power as it is a great element that affects human reality. As civilization becomes more complex and dynamic the traditional conception of power becomes insufficient Leadership is impossible without power since a leader must modify attitudes and behaviors.
Yet influencing others does not automatically qualify as leadership; power must be used in pursuit of group goals to merit leadership classification. (Hickman & Johnson, 2004, p 136). Influence, on the other hand is ‘the capacity or power of errors or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc. , of others” (Dictionary. Com, 2008). The success of an influence attempt can be distinguished among qualitatively distinct outcomes, commitment, compliance or resistance.
If success results in commitment, then the decision or request has been agreed upon and is carried out or decision implemented effectively. This is similar to compliance, an outcome in which a subordinate is willing to carry out the task but is more lethargic than enthusiastic about it. The flipped to this is resistance. This occurs when the task is rejected; he subordinate or follower is opposed to carrying out the request or action. This is also referred to as counter-power. The concept of ‘power itself is fairly broad.
It is a mysterious phenomenon that will be experienced by most at some stage, at least once, in a lifetime. The most basic prerequisite of power is that one person or group believes it is dependent on another person or group for something of value. Thus power exists when others believe that someone controls resources that they want. (Machines & Travailing, 2007, p. 356). Power can be defined as: “possession of controlling influence”. It is only the capacity of a person, team or organization to influence others; it is not limited exclusively to leaders and managers.
I think it important to mention authority at this stage, this is power vested in a specific position, and is therefore exclusive to that position. Power is not the act of changing others attitudes or behavior; it is only the potential to do so. Power is derived from five sources: Legit mate, Reward, Coercive, Expert, and; Referent. Leaders throughout the world are very diverse and with that come many ways to lead, each with their own styles and attributes, sometimes based on one’s ultra and other characteristics.
There have been many discussions in the past about which the best way to lead is, and which source of power will get the best out of followers and still encourage them to strive to perform better. Expert Power is power that “originates from within the person, not the position, it contrast with legitimate power. It is an individual’s or work unit’s capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills that the others value. Demonstrating practical knowledge and skills can also build expert power. For this reason, members of an organization often have little legitimate power but great deal of expert power. (Machines & Travailing, 2007, p. 359). Barbara Krueger is a leader who exhibits this “expert power’. As “a former member of the Fomenter Shareholders Council, Barbara has chaired the LICE National Council and has had 20 years of involvement with Shareholder of the year and the Dairy Industry Awards”. (www. Dairying. Co. NZ) has a lot of experience within the dairy industry due to her involvement and various leadership roles over the years. It is because of this she holds such power over other individuals in terms of the respect and admiration they may hold for her skills, work ethic ND achievements.
Barbara affirms that “If you believe in something strong enough and you can convince other people that it’s a good idea then they’ll come on board with that process… ” Maybe a lot of the success Barbara has encountered as a leader has been due to her ability to gain the respect of people through implementing expert power to convince others that what she believes in will work. Another commonly enforced source of power is that of Referent power. We recognize this power within leaders we can see that others identify with them, like them or otherwise respect them.
As with expert rower, referent power comes from within the person. It is largely a function of the person’s interpersonal skills and usually develops slowly. It is often associated with charismatic leadership. Charisma can be defined as a form of interpersonal attraction whereby followers develop a respect for and trust in the charismatic individual. (Machines & Travailing, 2007, p. 359). Garage Milne is a prominent figure in the New Zealand dairy industry, and a great example of the use of referent power.
He has been involved in the industry as CEO of various organizations like NZ dairy board and Fomenter for over thirty years and has a to of experience in managing and growing companies in this industry. This power by which he chooses to lead comes from within himself, it is a function of his interpersonal skills developed over the years as CEO and his success he has displayed in these various organizations. His experience and capability has created a sense of respect from his employees who identify with him and like him as their leader. His referent power is also derived from treating his employee’s right.
Garage believes that management is about managing the resources, and people are the essence of resource management. Therefore if you treat people eight by acknowledging their contribution to the success of the organization and giving them credit, you will get the best out of them, and you will be a successful leader by utilizing the best that your employees has to offer. Paul Splicer’s management and leadership style of Narrower clothing is also that of referent. When asked how he managed the process he says: “when I looked at my background it wasn’t that I had all the answers… And I often say… to everyone even knows the questions let alone the answers… But I understood the issues and I wanted to share my knowledge… I didn’t dictate the process, so much s shared my dream… And tried to build a team, and you turn what starts off as probably a large percentage of negativity into the positives” (Paul Spicier, 2007). This humble and modest leadership approach demonstrates how Paul would have gained the respect and loyal following of his fellow workers through referent power. Referent power develops over time. Paul Spicier has demonstrated a desire for referent power from the very beginning. I always thought if I ever got into a position of authority I would always try very hard to relate to the people that made the difference and be one of them… ” (Paul Spicier, 007). Spicier has followed through with this personal value, when he became CEO of Narrower he took made this evident. “I started by having a lunch for the whole factory and we’d attend that every month and we’d give an honest appraisal of where we’re at, how we were going, where we felt we were going and what was good and bad about the business… “. “All the staffs have freedom to speak… Always thought it was great to have so much input from the team at every level”. (Paul Spicier, 2007) This respect has spread to his employees and into the very essence of the garments Narrower produces. Spicier believes in is business and products, he emphasizes: “They’re items that I think need to be made here. If we were to make this offshore then it would lose all its impact and all its integrity… This is 100% New Zealand made, and is very important”. (Paul Spicier, 2007) Reward power is another form of power demonstrated by leaders such as Sir. Angus Await and King Smiles.
It is derived from the person’s ability to control the allocation of rewards valued by others and to remove negative sanctions. Managers have formal authority that gives them power over the distribution of organizational rewards such as pay, promotions, time off, loudly schedules and work assignments. (Machines & Travailing, 2007, p. 358). Reward power relates to the power leaders hold in rewarding their followers E. G. Employees. (Machines & Travailing, 2007, p. 358). Sir Angus Await paid a girl and persuaded her to leave her university and take a special job.
Reward power is an efficient and effective way to persuade other people, because people will get motivation from the reward and find their own values. Reward power also can set up a tighter relationship between employers and employees. A suitable reward will encourage trust for the leader amongst followers. However, reward rower can also bring problems, as people begin to focus on the reward not performance. Some people may also resort to negative means in order to gain a reward. Sir Angus Await uses reward power effectively through his mutual loyalty with staffs.
King Smiles and John Elution both combine reward and referent power to empower their employees. Story telling is one way Smiles gives his employees reference. Though the stories enable staff to have a reference point with Smiles, it takes a long time to get collective stories and it is not easy to get every potential follower on board, as everyone has different opinions etc. Referent power is often associated with interpersonal attraction whereby employees develop a value and trust in the charismatic individual. (Machines & Travailing, 2007). Smile’s second form of power is that of reward power.
He hereby encourages followers to get involved in different activities outside their business so they gain more experience that they can implement and put into practice. He also offers scholarships to support employees for helping them to shape and encourage their motivation. Such forms of power encourage those who are eager to gain more skills or capabilities. John Elution was previously irking in Public Service and didn’t find working there quite motivating and stimulating; as nobody was bothered about the effort being put by an individual.
People didn’t recognize that he was putting in more effort than what he was being paid. He considers rewarding people for their output very essential. People respond to incentives whether it is monetary incentive or just an acknowledgement by leaders that one is doing a good job. It is not necessary to criticism them when they have done a poor job, but a leader should provide constructive feedback and encouraging them to do a better job next time. Anna Stratton is an Inspirational fashion designer and founder of Anna Stratton Clothing Company, Anna S is an influential figure in the New Zealand fashion industry.
Her strong will and precise nature, has caused her to be labeled a pitch and her “it’ll do” attitude at times hasn’t been received well by workers as they become frustrated and annoyed. A form of leadership style Anna Stratton practices occasionally is ‘sea gull management’; it describes a leader who would fly in and sit on everyone then Hope, 2008). In other words the leader expects their employees to be as capable as they are and an be seen to expect others to do things beyond their capability, and if they are not up to their standard they generally impose negative reinforcements such as reducing status.
This practice can be seen as coercive power, is the ability to apply punishment or to give negative reinforcements. Examples of coercion range from reducing status, salary, and benefits to requiring others to do something they don’t like. In the most extreme form, coercive power translates into brute physical force. (Hickman & Johnson, 2004). Anna Stetson’s sea gull management can be seen as coercive power because she would expect her employees to do things beyond their capability and has occasionally fired those whom, she believes are not up to the standards she sets for employees within her organization.
James Milton along with his wife runs their family business Milton Wineries. He recounts his meeting with a winegrower in France. He had a beautiful winery and a well maintained cellar and his staff were quite friendly as well. Milton was amazed at how well the French winegrower managed it and enquired about the secret behind his success. He described his leadership style by the metaphor of carrot, whip and good restaurants. By carrot he meant hat his cellar was an inspirational sought after place to work whip and good restaurants.
Good restaurants-At the end of the harvest season he would take his staff to different restaurants in Paris to show how the customers appreciated the wine. Whip referred that he had a clear direction about how he wanted everything done. In order to maintain the superior quality of his product, he used his authority and ordered his employees to do work his way. This leadership style links with legitimate power which is an agreement between organizational members that people in certain roles can request certain behaviors of others. This perceived right comes from job descriptions as well as informal rules of conduct.
Executives have considerate legitimate power, but all employees also have this power based on company rules and government laws. (Machines & Travailing, 2007, p. 357) Conclusion and Recommendations Leadership involves the use of various forms of power to exert influence over others. Different leaders have different approaches to the use of power depending on the situation and the individual. The report has discovered that out of the five forms of powers, referent power was the best, as it is a form of rower derived from the leader himself rather than from his position.
Referent power draws respect from the follows through the charisma of the leader. However, this form of power is developed overtime, and cannot be given through the authorities, thus it differs to legitimate power where the power was given to the person in the position. In our report Garage Milne was referred to as a leader from the RSN website who has demonstrated a good use of referent power. Garage demonstrated the use of this power in leadership through his experience as CEO over thirty years. Reward power often compliments referent rower.
It is important to note that this should not be abused and should be used not as a bribe, but to reinforce desirable behaviors after they occur. (Yuk, & Table, 1983) Recommendation Based on the report, referent power is the best sustainable form of power to exert over employees. This is effective because once you’ve gained it through hard work and ‘walking the talk’, then your followers should always respect you; and be willing to work towards a common goal. A leader must accumulate and foster expert power and referent power over time by showing himself to be nonevent, decisive, considerate, and protective of subordinates’ interests. Yuk, & Table, 1983). In short, it all comes back to the golden rule that you should do unto others that you would have them do unto you. If you are going to lead under “seagull management” then chances are that that there will be a lack of loyalty from your subordinates. Whilst this may still get the job done, it is not the most effective way to get the most out of your followers. Appendices Personal Reflection: D. Appendix 1 – Blob 1 . Blob 2 . Blob 3 . Personal Reflection: L. Norman………… Appendix 1 Blob 1 Personal Reflection: D. Frederickson Personal Reflection: S.
Eggshell……………………………………………… Appendix 2 – Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Appendix 5 Appendix 6 Appendix 7 – Appendix 8 – Personal Reflection: D. Yang Ghana THE GENUINE ANGEL VS. THE WAR CRIMINAL Sarah Eggshell Posted @ 19/08/2008 7:29 p. M. As a group we found Opera Winfred to be a superior leader who inspires trust amongst her loyal followers. Like many other leaders before her, Opera has had an intriguing life, through her many hardships she has overcome obstacles and emerged as a positive and compassionate leader.
It is not hard to see why she as been named “the world’s most powerful woman” by CNN & Time. Com Her accomplishments and achievements have had a great impact on a diverse range of followers worldwide. Some of the many ways Opera touches the hearts of these people is through her talk show, O The Opera Magma, Opera. Com, plus her involvement in numerous charities, such as the Opera Angel network. This is a charity “aimed at encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged others”; Opera clearly uses her leadership ability to encourage and inspire others to follow in her footsteps.
Winery’s genuine quality ND love for helping others is also evident in the creation of the Opera Winfred Leadership academy for Girls, in South Africa. Her passion behind this stemmed from a desire “to… Give children exposure and opportunity and nurture them to understand their own power and possibility”. (Opera) With reference to a previous blob (Presley Parcel’s), we agree with this group’s discussion about Abrasion’s ideas toward leadership. He states that “having a personality of caring about people is important; you can’t be a leader unless you generally like people.
That is how you bring out the best in people. ” This group also acknowledges that Brannon views his employees as part of his extended family. Similarly, Opera expresses this value in regard to the girls attending her academy, describing them as “her daughters”. We believe Opera demonstrates a down to earth nature when it comes to inspiring trust amongst her followers she is on the same wave length as everyday people; and her “leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people” (John D. Rockefeller. Whilst Opera is the epitome of an inspiring leader, the president of her country George W. Bush fails to inspire trust amongst his followers. Being the president of the U. S. A Bush is arguably the most powerful leader in the world, yet he fails to gain the support of his countryman since his approval ratings has plunged down to an average of 28-32% in his second term in office. Leadership is as much about spreading values as it is about the use of power, values serve as guides to action, they inform our decisions as to what to do and what not to do.
Values also motivate. They keep us focused on why we’re doing what we’re doing and on the ends toward which we’re striving. To clarify values as a leader you must engage in two essentials. Firstly, you must mind your voice, it involves knowing who you are, what you stand for and what you care about, burn with desire to be true to something you hold passionately and lead according to the principle that matters most to you. We agree with the example that Presley Purcell gave in his blob regarding Martin Luther King.
He inspired others to conduct an impossible challenge on racial segregation, the very principles which the nation was fundamentally built on, and continues to operate under, directed by the same group of people who benefited most from exploitation through racial inequality. However, in contrast tit MILK stands George W Bush, his speeches were written by his talented speech writers, this is rather controversial as in doing so he was in fact speaking the words of someone else rather than following his own voice.
In Garage Harrison interview “Beware of hollow leaders” a hollow leader was considered to be: “someone who has a high reputation and… Have got there through tap dancing, by jumping up and down around the subject rather than on the subject, when it really gets down to the hard stuff they go missing”. (RSN, 2008) This could be applied to Bush because he commonly enjoys projecting a loss image of himself and his capability to lead America, but when hurricane Strain struck New Orleans he was nowhere to be seen for two months, therefore Bush fits the criteria of a hollow leader.