Power And Persuasion : How Does An Individual Obtain Power? Essay

In the most widely quoted and discussed model of presidential power, Richard Neustadt states that the power of the president lies in the power to persuade. According to Neustadt, the key to presidential success and influence is persuasion. Although some may view the president as a powerful authority figure, the checks and balances established by the founders makes the president’s skills of persuasion crucial.

It will forever be easier to set personal goals than to set goals that involve the participation and cooperation of others. Just because something is easier, though, doesn’t mean it is better; I consider “good” decision-making to be a practice that encompasses our fellows, rather than simply focusing on ourselves. To me, this is intrinsically linked to successful leadership; the leaders that I have observed as being most successful are the ones who do not only think of themselves.

When we talk about someone being in a position of authority we usually mean that they hold a certain rank or status within society or within an organisation such as the public services. There are several ways in which a person could find himself or herself in a position of authority. For example, a priest has the authority of the church while a mother or father has parental authority over children. In the uniformed public services, positions of authority come with promotion. An officer may be promoted because of certain achievements and special attributes, such as experience in the service, good character, knowledge of the job, dedication, self-discipline and the respect of one’s colleagues. If you join the uniformed public services and are placed in a position of authority, you may lawfully command team members, who recognise your authority and their duty to obey those legitimate commands. When authority is legitimate, there is no need to influence or use power. Indeed, if a senior officer were unable to gain the respect of a team member by command alone, then there would be no recognisable authority.

Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. The article “Leadership That Gets Results” by Daniel Goleman is an article that helps readers understand that there is not only one way of becoming a successful leader. Research indicates that leaders with best results do not rely on only one leadership style. Goleman, describes leaderships styles as array of clubs in a golf pro’s bag. Over the course of the game, the pro picks clubs based on the demands of the shot. Thinking is involved during the selection, but usually it is automatic. The pro is aware of the challenge ahead, quickly utilizes the right tool, and puts it to work. It has also been found that emotional intelligence

Leaders are some of the most influential individuals in any society. They have the ability to influence those around them with various leadership styles including coercive, authoritative, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and coaching. Effective leaders consistently adapt to the environment around them to either enhance or correct any situation facing them. Within these leadership styles the most effective style has been considered that of the authoritative style. This style brings individuals together, builds self-confidence, and easily adapts to the environment around it.

persuade. He has many options in a lot of areas, though one of them is

Oppression is defined as being the “the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner” (Oppression np). This term superbly defines the situation the Netherland Provinces found themselves in before the year of 1684. Under the rule of King Philip II, the King of Spain and the Holy Roman Emperor, the provinces faced countless hardships. Nevertheless, between the years of 1568 to 1648, the seven northern states of the seventeen Netherland Provinces, formally united against King Philip II’s rule and began their fight for independence in the series of battles now known as the Dutch Revolt (Fritschy 58). This period of time featured multitudinous deaths of not only common folk, but also nobles such as counts and princes. With this in mind, one

In the business world, being persuasive is a must have trait so that others can understand personal viewpoint, while gaining knowledge of individual perspective. This ability to persuade is needed in the workplace. Carol Deeb of Demand Media states that, “Convincing management to agree with your viewpoints can help to advance your career and your company mission. An eloquent delivery may persuade top-level supervisors to make changes that can help to improve systems or processes.”(Deeb 1). Being persuasive can stunt the growth, and improve companies. Carol Deeb shows readers that possessing this skill can benefit the company. Being able to persuade will help individuals impress the supervisors above the individual as well. She quotes, “By developing a new way to accomplish a task or manufacture a product, you have the potential to save your company money and make yourself shine in front of management.”(Deeb 1). Carol Deeb shows readers, and owners of companies that, in fact, persuasion is a trait that employees should be in possession of. When employees acquire this trait, they shine in front of their employers, and they benefit the company by saving money. Women acquire this trait of persuasion. Caliper’s study regarding the “Qualities That Distinguish Women Leaders”, provides evidence revealing women’s persuasive capabilities. Caliper’s report quotes, “The women leaders scored significantly higher

To inspire and influence others, a leader must possess many skills and abilities. As motivational speaker Peter Northouse, states, “a leader should be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant” (Northouse, 2013) Moving an entire group of individuals toward a singular goal is a considerable undertaking. Without effective communication skills and a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished, one will feel like they are trying to herd cats rather than leading.

While the sheep are busy eating the grasses in the field, the shepherd must search for green pastures. Just like the shepherd in the fields, a leader in the business world must know where his team is headed, aligning their strategy with the group’s goals. They must step up in order to lead their group. In this chapter, it was also emphasized that just like the gentleness of the staff, a good leader must use persuasion and not coercion.

There are many qualities a person would want in order to be a leader, but the most important qualities are the ones the person needs the most. Many citizens will agree that being charismatic and to have respect are the keys to be a good leader. To others, intelligence is the winning aspect of being not just a good leader, but a great one. Being charismatic doesn’t necessarily mean being attractive or charmful, but it also implies being persuasive and encouraging to others. With this quality the leader will be able to persuade others to do one’s bidding.

The Art of Persuasion Used since the times of the ancient Greeks, the art of persuasion has

Authority represents the power that lies within a managerial position and that gives the manager the right to assign the jobs to his subordinates and to expect that the assigned jobs would be completed by the subordinates. By the virtue of authority, the superiors are empowered to make their juniors and subordinates work. The organizational structure should clearly define the line of authority so that the overlapping actions might be avoided (Mahida).

In today’s society, we are easily influenced to think and act a certain way. For example, we are influenced by the media to buy things and meet certain standards, however, we often don’t protest or question why. Through persuasion, one alters another’s perspective on an event or occurrence and because of this, people usually tend to accept what is being said or portrayed. According to Petty and Cacioppo (1986), there are two routes to persuasion. When one tries to persuade another by being more caring and have a good understanding of the message they are delivering, this is called the central route to persuasion. The second route to persuasion is better known as the peripheral route to persuasion. This occurs when the one being addressed simply agrees with what is being said based on certain superficial cues rather than the actual message. Political persuasion methods are widely used, especially in campaigns. As a political leader, one detains the ultimate power to influence the population. Being a political leader, however, is never easy. Sometimes, one must make tough decisions that many of the population might not agree on. For instance, if a person in power chose to bomb a foreign country, this would create mayhem and thus his followers or just people in society would start to doubt his decision and may lead to riots. This specific political leader must debate his case and persuade the population that his decision was the right thing to do. In order to do so,

According to the text , Social Psychology, “social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another”(pg. 4) this is viewed in a variety of social topics incorporating group behaviors, attitudes, conformity, obedience to authority, stereotypes and peer pressure. Outside factors can have a positive or negative affect our view of ourselves and each other. These outside factors are used to persuade and influence group behavior. Persuasion is defined as “the process by which a message induces change in beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors” (Myers, 2010, pg. 230). The principles of this process of persuasion according to researchers, Robert Cialdini and Thomas Davidson, are attractiveness and