Power and Leadership in Organizations
Power and Leadership
Power was long viewed as an individual trait, enabling one to impose their will upon others. However, it is a characteristic of relationships between people. Max Weber defined power as the ability to influence someone’s actions, even against their will.
Power and Authority
Weber differentiated power from authority. Authority is legitimate power, socially recognized as valid, such as parental authority. Legitimacy signifies social acceptance of the power’s basis, not necessarily agreement with its application (e.g., a driver accepting a police officer’s authority). Weber identified three forms of authority:
Types of Authority
- Charismatic: Based on the leader’s exceptional qualities, inspiring trust and delegation of power.
- Traditional: Rooted in established customs and traditions, with authority delegated according to custom.
- Rational-Legal: Grounded in a system of accepted rules, with authority delegated within established procedures.
Characteristics of Power
- Social Process: Power manifests within social interactions, not as an individual attribute.
- Goal-Oriented: Power is employed to achieve the goals of the powerful.
- Potential vs. Actual: Power can be latent (potential) or actively exercised (practical).
- Inequality: Power relationships inherently involve an imbalance, though not absolute submission.
- Resistance: Power often encounters resistance, distinguishing it from situations of mutual agreement.
Power Rankings
Five types of power exist:
- Reward Power: Ability to reward compliance.
- Coercive Power: Ability to punish non-compliance.
- Expert Power: Based on specialized knowledge.
- Referent Power: Derived from the desire to identify with the powerful figure.
- Legitimate Power: Based on internalized norms and role expectations.
Amitai Etzioni also classified power types, differentiating organizational structures:
- Coercive Power: Based on force or the threat of force.
- Remunerative Power: Based on the ability to reward obedience.
- Normative Power: Based on appealing to values and norms.
Etzioni further identified forms of obedience:
- Alienative: Negative response, obedience due to lack of alternatives.
- Utilitarian: Calculated compliance based on cost-benefit analysis.
- Moral: Obedience based on alignment with personal values.
Leadership
Leadership is the ability to influence a group towards achieving goals. Influence can be formal or informal, based on power. Power exists when someone is willing to submit. Resistance is inherent in power dynamics.
Leader Characteristics
- Visionary and committed to excellence.
- Focused on the vision.
- Boundless love.
- Results-oriented.
- Prioritizes teamwork and fosters volunteer followers.
- Requires intense focus and a clear sense of purpose.
- Believes action precedes fear dissipation.
Effective Leadership
- Enthusiastic.
- Honest and integral.
- Develops relevant skills.
- Consistent.
- Self-confident.
- Understands the work and characteristics of their people.
- Supportive.
- Positive role model.
- Recognizes contributions.
Leadership Styles and Worker Maturity
Effective leadership depends on adapting style to the worker’s maturity level:
| Leadership Style | Worker Maturity Level |
|---|---|
| Directing (E1) | M1 (Unable and unwilling/insecure) |
| Persuading (E2) | M2 (Unable but willing/secure) |
| Participating (E3) | M3 (Able but unwilling/insecure) |
| Delegating (E4) | M4 (Able and willing/confident) |
Effective Leadership Lessons
- Responsibility can be unsettling.
- Leaders address problems.
- Challenge experts.
- Attend to details.
- Test your limits.
- Look beneath the surface.
- Focus on achievements, not titles.
- Detach ego from position.
- Avoid stereotypes and fads.
- Embrace optimism.
- Simplify.
- Respect the hierarchy.
- Enjoy life and family.
- Leaders can be lonely.
Power Distribution and Systems
According to Albert O. Hirschman, individuals in organizations can:
- Exit the system (exit).
- Voice concerns and seek change (voice).
Loyalty influences the choice between exit and voice.
Power Systems
- Closed System: Power is finite; one’s gain is another’s loss.
- Open System: Power can be generated; distribution is key.
Empowerment
Empowerment involves increasing responsibility and control for lower-level employees. In closed systems, this shifts power. In open systems, the overall power dynamic may remain unchanged.
Participation and Double Contingency
Effective organizations align individual behavior with organizational demands (double contingency). Key decisions involve member participation and individual commitment.
Power and Violence
Contrary to traditional views, violence represents a lack of power, an inability to influence. It is an avoidance mechanism, making alternatives unattractive.
Leadership (Modern Perspectives)
Modern leadership theories are eclectic, considering:
- Leader’s personality.
- Followers’ personalities.
- Group structure and function.
- Situational context.
Situational theory emphasizes adapting leadership style to follower maturity.
Formal Power vs. Leadership
Formal power is delegated, impersonal, and position-based. Leadership is informal, personalized, emergent, and non-transferable.
Dangers of Leadership
- Blind obedience obscures follower perspectives.
- Groupthink suppresses dissent.
- Shared delusions (folie à deux) distort reality.