Exercising Power and Influence in the Workplace - Essay Example

A management position is a leadership position and leaders need to possess some sort of power because it is a common tendency for people to follow those who are powerful and ignore those who are not. French and Raven identify five bases of power and some pieces of literature have modified this to include one or two others.

First, power may come from a legitimate source. That is, power comes from the belief that a person has the right to make demands and expect compliance and obedience from others (Heinemann). Thus, as a manager, I can use my legitimate power by establishing my authority early on with my subordinates. It means that I will have to make them realize that as their professional superior, I would be expecting them to follow my directives accordingly.

Second, power may come from Reward, or another person’s ability to compensate another for compliance. Undeniably, the motivation of each member is a very crucial aspect when expecting positive results in an organization, and nothing can motivate a person more than a reward can (Singh). This would mean that I could constantly ensure active participation in the workplace by regularly offering rewards to high-performing members. This could come in the form of a financial reward like a bonus, or an emotional reward like a “Best Team Member” award of sorts.

Third, power may be Coercive, or based on the belief that a person can punish others for noncompliance (Singh). As opposed to reward, I am not very comfortable in using coercive power in my repertoire of leadership techniques. However, I do realize the importance of setting an example for the corresponding consequences of noncompliance and so I am prepared to also use punishment when the situation calls for it.

Fourth, power may come from an Expert, someone who has superior skill and knowledge (Houser and Domokos). I always believe in leadership by example. That is, I wouldn’t expect any of my subordinates to accomplish a task that I am not even capable of doing. Thus, I would constantly seek out opportunities to demonstrate to my subordinates my capabilities of performing organizational tasks to make them aware that if ever I require something from them, it can be done because I have accomplished it myself.

Lastly, power may be based on Reference, or a person’s perceived attractiveness, worthiness, and right to respect from others (Lee-Chai and Bargh). I feel that this basis of power is closely related to the fourth one except that reference as a basis of power works more on a psychological and emotional level rather than a cognitive level as in the case of the Expert basis. As a manager, I must always be conscious of the image that I portray and I have to be aware that my actions are closely monitored by my subordinates in such a way that they are trying to assess whether or not I deserve their respect and dedication.