by Organizations are made up of individuals that exercise greater or lesser degrees of power. Sometimes, authority stems from a person’s title in the organization, or from specialized knowledge and expertise. Others may exercise power through interpersonal relationships or the force of their personality. And still others gain influence through an ability to grant access to important resources.
Legitimate or Positional Power
Legitimate power is also known as positional power. It’s derived from the position a person holds in an organization’s hierarchy. Job descriptions, for example, require junior workers to report to managers and give managers the power to assign duties to their juniors.
For positional power to be exercised effectively, the person wielding it must be deemed to have earned it legitimately. An example of legitimate power is that held by a company’s CEO.
Expert Power Derived from Possessing Knowledge
Knowledge is power. Expert power is derived from possessing knowledge or expertise in a particular area. Such people are highly valued by organizations for their problem solving skills. People who have expert power perform critical tasks and are therefore deemed indispensable.
The opinions, ideas and decisions of people with expert power are held in high regard by other employees and hence greatly influence their actions. Possession of expert power is normally a stepping stone to other sources of power such as legitimate power. For example, a person who holds expert power can be promoted to senior management, thereby giving him legitimate power.
Referent Power Derived from Interpersonal Relationships
Referent power is derived from the interpersonal relationships that a person cultivates with other people in the organization. People possess reference power when others respect and like them. Referent power arises from charisma, as the charismatic person influences others via the admiration, respect and trust others have for her.
Referent power is also derived from personal connections that a person has with key people in the organization’s hierarchy, such as the CEO. It’s the perception of the personal relationships that she has that generates her power over others.
Coercive Power Derived from Ability to Influence Others
Coercive power is derived from a person’s ability to influence others via threats, punishments or sanctions. A junior staff member may work late to meet a deadline to avoid disciplinary action from his boss. Coercive power is, therefore, a person’s ability to punish, fire or reprimand another employee. Coercive power helps control the behavior of employees by ensuring that they adhere to the organization’s policies and norms.
Reward Power and Ability to Influence Allocation of Incentives
Reward power arises from the ability of a person to influence the allocation of incentives in an organization. These incentives include salary increments, positive appraisals and promotions. In an organization, people who wield reward power tend to influence the actions of other employees.
Reward power, if used well, greatly motivates employees. But if it’s applied through favoritism, reward power can greatly demoralize employees and diminish their output.
