Leadership Power in Organizational Setting - Essay Example

Power in Organizational Setting Introduction Power is an important aspect of leadership and interpersonal relationships in organizational setting. In general, power means the authority to achieve desired objectives by making others comply with one’s commands and instructions. Uhl-Bein and Marion (2008, p.213) state that “power is needed to facilitate, orchestrate, and share innovative ideas and outcomes throughout the organization.” Power and position differences also give rise to a myriad of issues in leader-member relationship. This paper sheds light on the impact of power within the organizational setting. Different forms of power have been described along with personal experiences. An interview with a CEO of a company has been described. In the end, some suggestions have been given as to how leaders and managers can exercise power appropriately. Power in Organizational Setting Power enables the leader to define out his position within the organization and his relationship with the subordinates (Papa, Daniels & Spiker, 2008). If power is not recognized and used properly, that results in anarchy with the organization that not only destroys leader-member relationship but also results in imperfect organizational outcomes. Power is not a central idea for leaders only, but the fact is that every position in the organization has some power with which it controls some of the organizational goals and makes effective decisions (Papa, Daniels & Spiker, 2008). Bal et al. (2008, p.12) have identified three important ways in which power influences the organization. According to them, power is used to promote one’s own agenda, promote someone else’s agenda, or to promote the organization’s agenda. Power promotes one’s own agenda in a way that the person gives priority to his tasks; he tries to impose his own rules and regulations; and, he takes measures to look after his position. Power also promotes another person’s agenda when the person in power introduces someone in the network or refers him to somebody. Power is also used to promote organizational agenda through measures taken to improve communication and relationship among employees and with leaders. This power is not based on self-interests, and focuses on improving employee development through improving inter-personal relationships at workplace. Complexities in power also have a lot of influence in leader-member relationships (Papa, Daniels & Spiker, 2008). According to Sweeney and McFarlin (2001), complexities arise when the person in power exhibits political behavior like trying to attempt personal gains by violating others’ rights. Such complexities deteriorate leader-member relationships, lower down employee morale, and also weigh heavily on organizational outcomes. Forms of Power Out of five forms of power in organization (coercive, legitimate, reward, referent, expert), I choose the following three: Coercive Power Coercive power is used when a business is at risk or a critical decision is to be made, and the person in power imposes punishments or threats on subordinates in case the goal is not achieved. When I was working as a trainee in a bank, I got ill during a project. The deadline was near, and I was not able to deliver my module in time. The project was to be delivered within two days, and my module was half done. My team leader called me at home late at night, and told me that the manager wanted to see all modules done by deadline. He told me that he would fine me heavily if the module was not delivered in time. Hence, I completed my task and presented it somehow, although I was not feeling well. I knew that I could have performed much better had I not been ill. So, the leader used his coercive power to make me produce the product in time. Reward Power In contrast to the above scenario, reward power is the form of power that motivates an employee to perform his best by way of rewards or benefits. For me, positive feedback is the greatest reward that I am in continuous need of to get motivated to work. I always look for praises, feedbacks, and constructive criticisms. One fine day, after I had delivered my analysis document on a project, my manager called me in his office. When I entered his office, he welcomed me with a great hello. He shook hands with me, and introduced me to some professional people who had come to meet him. He praised my work, and told me to continue working in that manner. He also assigned me two similar kinds of projects. I was so happy that I felt like on top of the world. I put more serious efforts in the future projects than I had put in the previous work. Expert Power Expert power is that form of power that comes with expertise in a field. I remember when I was working in a hospital’s management department. That hospital had implemented computerized/electronic medical health records as a new system of recording patients’ data. There were not enough technical people in the staff who could manage and run the software. I had great computer knowledge and experience, so I was selected as the team leader who was supposed to manage the data and train the members how to use that software. I got a lot of praise from the members. They looked forward to me for my advice, and followed me not only in this specific technical matter but also in other matters of the department. This is a perfect example of expert power that I have experienced myself. Interview I interviewed Mr. George Atkinson, the CEO of a renowned company. He is a far relative, so I interviewed him at his home. He is a newly appointed CEO, and his talked about his experience of power in his new job position. According to him, power gave him much more responsibility. He felt that he needed to use this power to enhance his interpersonal relationship with his subordinates. Since his company experienced many conflicts, he felt that his new position was expected to utilize power in an efficient way so as to resolve those conflicts. When asked how he would use power to improve organizational outcomes, he responded that for him organizational outcomes were directly related to employee morale. He wanted to use power and influence of his position to provide his employees such a collaborative platform where they worked in collaboration to achieve organizational objectives. Suggestions Managers and supervisors need to use power to mobilize organizational resources. They must use power and influence to create a healthy workplace environment. They must understand that everyone in the organizational hierarchy has power to little or great extent, and thus, they need to respect each and every member of the team to make correct use of power. Complexities that may arise due to power in leader-member relationship must be understood and rectified through proper communication and collaboration. Two big mistakes that managers and supervisors do are that they try to use power they don’t have, or they try to make wrong use of the power that they have. Thus, leaders (managers, supervisors, team leaders, etc) must keep these considerations in mind to be efficient powerful leaders. Summary/Concluding Remarks To conclude, leaders and managers make use of power and influence tactics to achieve obedience from their subordinates. Power brings control over organizational tasks and functions, and brings the responsibilities of decision-making and problem-solving. Hence, it becomes very important for leaders to utilize their personal and influential competencies in order to make right use of their power with the organizational setting. Correct use of power guarantees healthy business relationships, and thus, healthy business outcomes. References Bal, V., Campbell, M., Steed, J., & Meddings, K. (2008). The role of power in effective leadership. A CCL Research White Paper. Retrieved November 13, 2013, from http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/research/roleOfPower.pdf Papa, M.J., Daniels, T.D., & Spiker, B.K. (2008). Organizational Communication: Perspectives and Trends. USA: SAGE Publications. Sweeney, P.D., & McFarlin, D.B. (2001). Organizational Behavior: Solutions for Management. USA: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Uhl-Bein, M., & Marion, R. (2008). Complexity Leadership, Part 1. New York: IAP. Statement of Originality As a member of the academic community, my typed name below certifies that this paper is my original work. I am familiar with and acknowledge my responsibility to follow the guidelines for academic integrity as described in the course syllabus. I have used quotation marks for materials quoted verbatim, and I have identified all sources of information, whether quoted verbatim or paraphrased, that I used to write this paper. Name: Read More