The Relationship of Power and Leadership Essay

Bolman & Deal suggest that leaders display leadership behaviors in one of four types of frameworks: Structural, Human Resources, Political and Symbolic (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Unlike the other four frames, the Political frame sees an organization as a jungles, arenas or contests in which individuals and groups compete to achieve their interests in a world of conflicting viewpoints, scarce resources and struggles for power (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Like it or not all businesses and organizations are ran by people in power. Power is best defined as “the potential ability to influence behavior, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance, and to get people to do things they would not otherwise do” (Pfeffer, 1992, p.30). According to the

A large part of organizational behavior could be explained in terms of coercive power rather than reward power. In a 1959 study, social psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram Raven developed a schema of sources of power in order to analyze how power plays function, or fail, in specific relationships. According to them, the concept of power is fundamentally relative, depending on specific understandings developed into relationships, and recognition of a quality that motivates the influence of the power holder, and carries out his or her intentions via the affected. It was French and Raven, who argued and established five significant categories of power, in addition to other minor categories. Coercive power is among the five significant categories, and the duo has noted that coercive power tends to be the most obvious, but at the same time least effective form of power. This, according to them, is because coercive power builds resentment and resistance from the people who are subjected to it. As threats, punishments and force are common means of exerting coercive power, relying on this type of power can result in a deficient leadership style. When viewed in a political context, coercive power is applied, and even tolerable, when applied with the justification of social and legal norms. It can also be tolerated when the leadership group is viewed as successful.

In addition to power established because of organizational hierarchy or role, power is also established based on the level of influence or status one holds in an organization (Anichich, Fast, Halevy, Galinsky, 2016). “Status is the outcome of an evaluation of attributes that produce differences in respect and prominence” (Ketner et al, 2003 p. 266) They co-exists but are not co-dependent on each other. It’s possible to have status without power and power without status (Ketner et al, 2003). Whether one’s control comes through status or positional power, lauding control or significant influence over another inevitably leads to conflict.

Northouse, P. G. (6th Ed.)(2013). Leadership Theory and Practice . New Delhi 110 044, India: SAGE.

A well-known leader I chose to discuss is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett. He is known to be down to earth, knowledgeable, frugal, and optimistic. In my opinion, he exudes some degree of all five of the forms of power listed on page 174 in our textbook. In reward power form, he makes feasible and reasonable requests of his staff, is highly ethical, and rewards employees with appropriate incentives. He still has a business to run so everyone must have a clear understanding of the rules and what is asked of them. In the coercive power form, if an employee must be punished I think he and his managers would do it in private, and make sure that the punishment fits the offense fairly. As for legitimate power, he is polite and considers

“the ability of a person to influence others by using financial (e.g. bonuses, pay rises) or nonfinancial rewards (e.g. praise, job promotion, flexible working hours, recognition)” (2015, p. 612). Reward power makes people feel good about themselves when it is positive and to “reciprocate this favorable treatment and are motivated to perform extra role behaviors” (Malik,

It is important for managers to understand the sources of power and influence as they must rely upon the cooperation of subordinates in order to be successful. Strong managers rely upon more than just authority they also use leadership skills and power to obtain the most productivity from their staff. According to French and Raven (1959) there are five sources of power. Referent power seems to be the most influential and the least affected by change. To quote Paul Argenti,

Leadership is a complex phenomenon, involving the constant interaction of three essential elements: the leader, the followers, and the surrounding situation or context (Wren, 1995, p. 125). Enhancing leadership requires extensive knowledge about each element and the relationships of each element to the other. The execution of this knowledge determines the quality of the leadership skills, which is essential to the survival of the organization. As noted in Bass (1990), effective leadership makes a difference in the subordinates’ satisfaction and performance while making the difference in whether the organization succeeds or fails. Interest in historical

“In 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria, ISIS took advantage of the chaos and began seizing territory with its brutal tactics, including on the spot executions and public be-headings of citizens. ISIS became the most powerful of the rebel armies within society.”.In recent years, an increasing quantity of atrocities and informal government procedures have been executed across the world, many of which begin within the roots of an individual in power. In response to these catastrophes, many are searching for answers as to how these disasters were instantiated, and how the correlation between power and leadership influence the outcome of atrocities evolving around the world. Based on the evidence, power and leadership are dissimilar due to the fact that both methods of ruling wage opposing levels of intimacy to their communities, advocating converse strategies in dealing with the running of a government; decisions that revolutionize economic and political situations faced by government parties indefinitely.

My current organization consist of several different levels of management. Each level consists of duties and responsibilities that are specifically designed to manage the functions and task at the next lower level. The leadership foundation is typically one of positional power. This type of power base, as described by Nohria and Khurana (2010) is a power of coercion. One element of leadership is particularly highlighted in this type of power; hierarchy within a group.

In other words power should be jointly developed between management and employees and not employed in a coercive way by management. Power is one of the problems in organisation. Follett said that ‘the question of power was the central problem of social relations’ (Follett, 1930, p.12). She did not think that power can be deputed but she believed in giving employees opportunities to gain his or her own power. Follett was only interested in studying how an organisation will give power while the others had been paid attention to the division of power and how to achieve it. She said: ‘So far as my observation has gone, it seems to me that whereas power usually means power-over, the power of some person or group over some other person or group, it is possible to develop the conception of power-with’ (Follett, 1940, p.101). Follett announced that only ‘power-with’ was acceptable. She explained this: “True power then is ‘power-with’ another, not ‘power-other’ another. Until everyone within an organisation realises that they are bound together, each will see only their own situation. “Power with” can only come from obedience to a single, shared situation(Dynamic Administration (DA), 1965, p.100). Perhaps this is why managers in the 1970s seemed so powerless to implement their strategies. They had ‘power over’ – but the strategies themselves did not generate ‘power with’.(Mary Parker Follett, 1930)

Leadership is the ability of an individual to Lead or guide the other team of individuals, or an entire organization. The leader should have research skills as well as Practical skills and should have high ability of managing and executing the tasks. The qualities of an effective leadership can be use of superior mental energies and motivational powers to make their teams encouraged and determined to perform. According to some, leadership is determined by distinctive characteristic present at birth, however, accordingly there is evidence to show that leadership can be developed by hard works and by developing skills. Thus effective leadership can be the result of nature or nurture. This is also validated that groups can be succeeded when guided by effective leader. Therefore, leadership can be a powerful tool for the success of the company. In this paper, we are going to discuss about the Microsoft, it’s an American multinational technology company headquarters in Washington. It develops, licenses computer software’s and also manufactures personal computers. Its best known for its windows operating systems and Office tools which are required in day to day businesses. The company is run by a board of directors which are formed from those who have an outstanding leadership qualities of managing the company. There are various committee formed within the board for specific matters. These boards of

Other top-level managers can shoulder burdens and deliver results in more subtle fashion. They have learned that power abuse can curtail effectiveness. They know the downside risks of unilateral imposition and have acquired the expertise, experience and empathy to avoid these pitfalls. Experience can instill appreciation for unintended consequences, and training can imbue ethical precepts. Many scholars attribute the long-term durability of organizations, and even whole societies, to successful managerial preparation for power deployment. When they wield power well, users of power usually garner the nimbus of leadership.

Furthermore, Influence over power is indispensably vital to the organizational character. Having power implies more grounded employer stability and better monetary rewards, and having the capacity to impact others all the more effortlessly and perform out one 's occupation all the more practical (Magee & Galinsky 2008).

Effective leaders need broad vision and enough energy to deal with multifarious issues in an organization. According to Fiedler’s Contingency Model (1981), the leader’s effectiveness is determined by the interaction of the leader’s style of behaviour and the