Leadership and change Essay

Submitted By rach1215
Words: 422
Pages: 2

POWER
• Power is defined as the capacity to produce effects on others or the potential to influence others.
• Power not only belongs to the leader, but is a function of the leader, followers, and the situation.

SOURCES OF LEADER POWER

• What affects leaders and followers power?
• Factors that can affect leaders or followers power o Shape of the table used for meetings o Displaying symbols such as diplomas, awards, and titles o Choice of clothing o Absence of a crisis

TAXONOMY OF SOCIAL POWER
• French and Raven identified five sources of power by which an individual can potentially influence others.
• These five sources of power include; expert power, referent power, legitimate power, reward power, and coercive power.

EXPERT POWER
• Power of knowledge
• Because expert power is a function of the amount of knowledge one possesses relative to the rest of the members of the group, it is possible for followers to have considerately more expert power than leaders in certain situations.
• As long as different followers have greater amounts of expert power, it will be difficult for a leader to influence the work unit on the basis of expert power alone.

REFERENT POWER
• The potential influence one has due to the strength of the relationship between the leaders and the followers.
• When people admire a leader and see them as a role model, we say they have referent power.
• Referent power takes time to develop, but can be lost quickly.

LEGITIMATE POWER

• Legitimate power depends on a person’s organizational role. It can be thought of as one’s formal or official authority.
• Legitimate authority and leadership are not the same thing. Holding a position and being a leader are synonymous, despite the common practice of