Leadership Practice - Power and Influence

Note. This lecture is property of the University of Phoenix, not the course facilitator.

Beginning in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the concept of the social person began to emerge. Mayo (1977) conducted a series of experiments in Western Electric's Hawthorne plant to assess the relationship between employee productivity and leadership. The Hawthorne studies, as they came to be called, attempted to illustrate that sensitive and caring managers could increase productivity.

The experimenters selected a sample of five female employees and placed them in a separate work area where a supervisor observed their work. The supervisor praised these employees, asked for their ideas, and treated them as if they were important. The experimenters noticed that the selected employees produced more work than employees supervised under the plant's typical management conditions.

The Hawthorne studies revealed the power of social dynamics and interpersonal interaction. When the sample employees were selected from other plant workers, the selected few felt special. When they were permitted to maintain a friendly relationship with their supervisor, they experienced greater satisfaction with their work.

When their supervisor asked for their input and ideas, they felt part of a team. Mayo (1977) discovered through the Hawthorne studies that workplaces are social environments, and people are motivated not only by self-interest but by social interest. The Hawthorne studies helped create the beginning of the human relations movement, transformational leadership, and a new era of leadership thought.

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The Hawthorne studies revealed that leadership style is an important employee success factor. In addition to leadership style, a leader's expectations can influence followers' work performance. Livingston (2003) discussed the effects of the self-fulfilling prophecy, the idea that a manager's expectations can influence employee results.

According to the self-fulfilling prophecy, managers who have high expectations of employees foster superior performance (Livingston, 2003). The self-fulfilling prophecy maintains the following:

1. Managers have expectations of the people who report to them.

2. Managers communicate these expectations consciously and unconsciously.

3. Employees, either consciously or unconsciously, realize managers' expectations.

4. Employees' work performance mirrors manager expectations; that is, managers who communicate high expectation will receive good results, and managers who communicate low expectations will receive substandard results.

The self-fulfilling prophecy is a powerful leadership tool, and it shapes and motivates followers' work performance, motivation, and esteem. Bass (1990) noted that transformational leaders motivate employees to perform beyond the expected. Transformational leaders communicate positive expectations of others, realizing the powerful influence of the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Power and Legitimacy

Power is an important leadership topic. How leaders use power determines whether they will gain commitment or compliance from followers. Old-paradigm leaders typically have low expectations of others and use power to dominate and control.

New-paradigm, human-relations leaders have high employee expectations and use power to influence, engage, and inspire. A wealth of leadership literature explores the relationship between leadership and power. French and Raven (1960) originated five forms of power relevant in the study of contemporary leadership. According to them, leaders can display one or more of the following types of power:

Referent Power

Leaders demonstrate referent power when they behave ethically, morally, and judiciously toward others. Leaders with referent power display desirable characteristics. For example, leaders who display integrity and treat people with respect model referent power. The reason this type of power is called referent power is that organizational members want to associate with honorable people and want to be in their reference group. Displaying referent power is a transformational leadership behavior that engenders long-term commitment from followers.

Expert Power

Leaders have expert power when others respect and value their expertise. Leaders with expert power gain followers who value their expertise and want to learn from them. Individuals with expert power do not have to boast of their knowledge or expertise. Others experience these individuals as experts and voluntarily follow them in order to benefit from their knowledge. Leaders who use expert power gain commitment from followers.

Reward Power

Leaders maintain control over others' rewards, including special assignments, raises, and promotions. Consequently, leaders automatically have reward power. Leaders use reward power to gain compliance by bartering rewards for work. Reward power is a transactional leadership behavior that generally engenders compliance from followers.

Legitimate Power

Legitimate power is the power that automatically comes with the title of manager or leader. Because managers and formal leaders outrank most employees in the organizational hierarchy, these individuals retain legitimate power. It is important to remember that holding a leadership position, in itself, does not denote leadership. Individuals who display legitimate power alone engender compliant employees-individuals willing to do the minimum necessary.

Coercive Power

Leaders use coercive power to force people into doing what they want them to do. Leaders who threaten subordinates' job security are using coercive power. Coercive power is a transactional leadership behavior that creates compliance instead of commitment from followers.

All leaders have power; how leaders use their power is a personal decision and choice. Leaders can choose to dominate and control by exaggerating their legitimate power, or they can choose to engage and inspire by demonstrating referent power. How leaders choose to use power determines whether they will gain commitment or compliance from followers.

As doctoral students of leadership, begin now to ask the following questions:

1. What is my preferred leadership style? Is this style the most effective for gaining followership?

2. What is my preferred type of power? Is this use of power the most effective for gaining followership?

3. What messages do I communicate to followers? Do I communicate positive expectations?

As you synthesize what you learn from the course, you can refine your answers and maximize leadership effectiveness.

References

Bass, B. (1990). Bass & Stogdill's handbook of leadership: Theory, research, & managerial applications (3rd ed.). New York, NY: The Free Press.

French, J. P. R., Jr., & Raven, B. (1960). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright & A. Zander (Eds.), Group dynamics (pp. 607-623). New York, NY: Harper and Row.

Livingston, J. (2003). Pygmalion in management. Harvard Business Review, 81, 97-106.

Mayo, E. (1977). The human problems of an industrial civilization. New York, NY: Ayer.