Power

Power is the ability to influence others to get things done. Those with power are able to influence the behavior of others to achieve some goal or objective. Although people sometimes regard power as evil or corrupt, power is a fact of organizational life and in itself is neither good nor bad. In the context of business, leaders can use power to benefit others or to constrain them, to serve the organization’s goals or to undermine them.

Another way to view power is as a resource that people use in relationships. When a leader influences subordinates, it is called downward power. We can also think of this as someone having power over someone else. On the other hand, subordinates can also exercise upward power by trying to influence the decisions of their leader. Indeed, leaders depend on their teams to get things done and in that way are subject to the power of team members.

The Relationship Between Dependency and Power

Dependency is directly related to power. The more that a person or group is dependent on you, the more power you have. The strategic contingencies model provides a good description of how dependency works. According to the model, dependency is power that a person or unit gains from their ability to handle actual or potential problems facing an organization.^[1] You know how dependent you are on someone based on three key factors: scarcity, importance, and substitutability. Possessing any of the three aspects of a resource could make others depend on you, two would make you extremely needed, and having all three could make you indispensable.

In the context of dependency, scarcity refers to the uniqueness of a resource. The more difficult something is to obtain, the more valuable it tends to be. Effective influencers exploit this reality by making an opportunity or offer seem more attractive because it is limited or exclusive.

Importance refers to the value of the resource. The key question here is “How important is this?” If the resources or skills you control are vital to the organization, you will gain some power. The more vital the resources that you control are, the more power you will have.

Finally, substitutability refers to one’s ability to find another option that works as well as the one offered. The question around whether something is substitutable is “How difficult would it be for me to find another way to this?” The harder it is to find a substitute, the more dependent the person becomes and the more power someone else has over them.

Sources of Power

A well-known typology identifies six distinct sources and types of power that individuals can draw on (Video 1): reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, expert, and informational.^[2]

1. Reward power comes from the ability to confer valued material rewards or create other positive incentives. It refers to the degree to which the individual can provide external motivation to others through benefits or gifts. In an organization, this motivation may include promotions, increases in pay, or extra time off.
2. Coercive power is the threat and application of sanctions and other negative consequences. These can include direct punishment or the withholding of desired resources or rewards. Coercive power relies on fear to induce compliance.
3. Legitimate power, also called “positional power,” is the power individuals have from their role and status within an organization. Legitimate power usually involves formal authority delegated to the holder of the position.
4. Referent power comes from the ability of individuals to attract others and build their loyalty. It is based on the personality and interpersonal skills of the power holder. A person may be admired because of a specific personal trait, such as charisma or likability, and these positive feelings become the basis for interpersonal influence.
5. Expert power draws from a person’s skills and knowledge and is especially potent when an organization has a high need for them. Narrower than most sources of power, the power of an expert typically applies only in the specific area of the person’s expertise and credibility.
6. Informational power comes from access to facts and knowledge that others find useful or valuable. That access can indicate relationships with other power holders and convey status that creates a positive impression. Informational power offers advantages in building credibility and rational persuasion. It may also serve as the basis for beneficial exchanges with others who seek that information.

The Relationship Between Power and Compliance

Not all forms of power are equally effective, nor is a leader’s total power base the simple sum of the powers at his or her disposal. Different types of power elicit different forms of compliance. Reward and legitimate power (that is, relying on one’s position to influence others) produce inconsistent results. Sometimes these powers lead to follower performance and satisfaction, yet they also sometimes fail. Coercive power can result in favorable performance, yet follower resistance and dissatisfaction are not uncommon. On the other hand, leaders who use referent and expert power commonly experience a favorable response in terms of follower satisfaction and performance. ^[3]

Effective leaders, whether formal or informal, develop many sources of power. Leaders who rely solely on legitimate power and authority seldom generate the influence necessary to be successful in the long term. In the process of building their power base, effective leaders have discovered that the use of coercive power tends to dilute the effectiveness of other powers, while the development and use of referent power tends to magnify the effectiveness of other forms of power. A compliment or reward from a person we like generally has greater value than one from someone we dislike, and punishment from someone we admire and respect is typically less offensive than the pain inflicted by someone we do not respect.^[4]

In sum, one key to effective leadership, especially as it pertains to the exercise of social and interpersonal influence, relates to the type of power employed by the leader. Leaders are generally most effective when people follow because they want to follow.

Influence

Influence occurs when a person’s emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others. It is an important component of a leader’s ability to use power and maintain respect in an organization. Influence is apparent in peer pressure, socialization, conformity, obedience, and persuasion, for example. The ability to influence is an important asset for leaders, and it is also an important skill for those in fields such as sales, marketing, politics, and law.

Influence Tactics

Researchers have identified various distinct influence tactics. Nine of the most common tactics are described below.

1. Rational persuasion includes using facts, data, and logical arguments to try to convince others that your point of view is the best alternative. This is the most commonly applied influence tactic.

2. Inspirational appeals seek to tap into our values, emotions, and beliefs to gain support for a request or course of action. When President John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” he appealed to the higher selves of an entire nation. Effective inspirational appeals are authentic, personal, big-thinking, and enthusiastic.

3. Consultation refers to the influence agent’s asking others for help in directly influencing or planning to influence another person or group. Consultation is most effective in organizations and cultures that value democratic decision making.

4. Ingratiation refers to different forms of making others feel good about themselves. Ingratiation includes any form of flattery done either before or during the influence attempt. Research shows that ingratiation can affect individuals. For example, in a study of résumés, those résumés that were accompanied with a cover letter containing ingratiating information were rated higher than résumés without this information. Other than the cover letter accompanying them, the résumés were identical.^[5] Effective ingratiation is honest, infrequent, and well intended.

5. Personal appeals involve asking someone to do something for you, such as a favor. This tactic relies on friendship or positive relationships and is therefore most effective with people who know and like you.

6. Exchange refers to give-and-take in which someone does something for you, and you do something for them in return. The rule of reciprocation says that “we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.”^[6] The application of the rule obliges us and makes us indebted to the giver. One experiment illustrates how a small initial gift can open people to a substantially larger request at a later time. One group of subjects was given a bottle of soda. Later, all subjects were asked to buy raffle tickets. On the average, people who had been given the drink bought twice as many raffle tickets as those who had not been given the unsolicited drinks.

7. Coalition refers to a group of individuals working together toward a common goal to influence others. Common examples of coalitions within organizations are unions that may threaten to strike if their demands are not met. Coalitions also take advantage of peer pressure. The influencer tries to build a case by bringing in the unseen as allies to convince someone to think, feel, or do something.

8. Pressure refers to exerting undue influence on someone to do what you want or else something undesirable will occur. This often includes threats and frequent interactions until the target agrees. Research shows that managers with low referent power tend to use pressure tactics more frequently than those with higher referent power.^[7] Pressure tactics are most effective when used in a crisis situation and when they come from someone who has the other’s best interests in mind, such as getting an employee to an employee assistance program to deal with a substance abuse problem.

9. Legitimating occurs when the appeal is based on legitimate or position power. This tactic relies upon compliance with rules, laws, and regulations. It is not intended to motivate people but to align them behind a direction. Obedience to authority is filled with both positive and negative images. Position, title, knowledge, experience, and demeanor grant authority, and it is easy to see how it can be abused. If someone hides behind people’s rightful authority to assert themselves, it can seem heavy-handed and without choice.

Effectiveness of Influence Tactics

Research that examined the use and effectiveness of influence tactics found that inspirational appeal, ingratiation, and pressure were primarily used in downward influence (e.g., with subordinates); personal appeal, exchange, and legitimating were often used laterally (e.g., between peers); coalitions were used both laterally and in upward influence (e.g., with superiors); and rational persuasion was mainly used in upward influence. Rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, and consultation were the most effective influence tactics, while coalition, pressure, and legitimating were least effective. Ingratiation and exchange were somewhat effective when used with subordinates and peers but did not work well with superiors.^[8]

Responses to Influence Tactics

Individuals differ in how susceptible they are to different influence tactics. In organizations and in most parts of life, sources of influence are all around us. As a result, our behavior can be shaped by how others communicate with us and how we view others.

Responses to influence attempts include resistance, compliance, or commitment. Resistance occurs when the influence target does not wish to comply with the request and either passively or actively repels the influence attempt. Compliance occurs when the target does not necessarily want to obey, but they do. Commitment occurs when the target not only agrees to the request but also actively supports it. Within organizations, commitment helps to get things done, because others can help to keep initiatives alive long after compliant changes have been made or resistance has been overcome.

Research on the nine influence tactics described above has sought to link the various tactics to the three potential responses (Figure 1). One study found that consultation and inspirational appeals were most commonly associated with commitment, while coalition, pressure, and legitimating were just as likely to result in resistance as compliance. The remaining four tactics—exchange, ingratiation, personal appeals, and rational persuasion—were distributed more equally across the three outcomes.^[9]

Cultivating Power and Influence

Power and influence enable individuals to shape decisions, overcome obstacles, and lead with impact. Cultivating power and influence is essential for driving meaningful change, both within organizations and in the broader world (Videos 2 and 3).

Chapter Review

Optional Resources to Learn More

	Articles
	Harvard Business Review: Managing Your Boss
	McKinsey Featured Insights: Author Talks: Rules of Power From Jeffrey Pfeffer to Help You Get Your Way
	McKinsey Featured Insights: Author Talks: Power, for All
	Wall Street Journal: How to Manage Up at Work
	Books
	Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
	Influence Without Authority by Allan R. Cohen and David L. Bradford
	Managing Up: How to Move up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss by Mary Abbajay
	Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t by Jeffrey Pfeffer
	Power and Influence: Beyond Formal Authority by John P. Kotter
	Podcasts
	WorkLife with Adam Grant: The Secret to Success Isn’t Power – It’s Status | Apple Spotify Transcript
	Videos
	CrashCourse: Social Influence: Crash Course Psychology
	CrashCourse: The Many Forms of Power: Crash Course Business
	Harvard Business Review: Power: What It Is, How to Get It, and What to Do with It
	NAB Leadership Foundation: Managing Up: How to Successfully Work with Any Type of Boss
	Stanford Graduate School: Deborah Gruenfeld: Power & Influence

Chapter Attribution

Unit 4 of Saylor Academy. Management leadership. https://learn.saylor.org/course/view.php?id=70&sectionid=668. Licensed with CC BY 3.0.

Chapter 13 of University of Minnesota. (2017). Organizational behavior. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. https://open.lib.umn.edu/organizationalbehavior/part/chapter-13-power-and-politics/. Licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Media Attributions

Figure 1: Hoopes, C. (2024). Relationship between influence tactics and responses. Licensed with CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Video 1: Heidrick & Struggles. (2016, October 21). Leading with influence the 6 power bases [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/A3sTrfvMdo4

Video 2: Stanford Graduate School. (2020, October 12). If you want to change the world, you need power: Part 1 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/-5SWvaKGULo

Video 3: Stanford Graduate School. (2020, October 12). If you want to change the world, you need power: Part 2 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/JYZx_tosDP8