Referent Power in Leadership

* Referent power – we do what we are asked because we can identify with the source of influence; we may be attracted to them or respect them.

The amount of legitimate power someone has depends on the importance of the position she or he occupies and the willingness to grant authority to the person in that position. The benefits of this type of power are that incorporates weight of the entire organization, effective for gaining obedience, helps large organizations function effectively. The costs are that lowers follower task performance, lowers follower task satisfaction, and may become less effective overtime.

The handling of power is also paramount in an organization. Boleman and Deal offer meaningful insight in this aspect. They observe the following,

When looking at French and Raven’s Five Forms of Power in this situation, you can understand where the power comes from in this workplace (French, Raven, 1960). I see only four of the five forms being actively used in the RetailMax scenario. The CEO, who helped put the company back into a positive growth, has legitimate power since he believes that he has the right to make demands and get compliance from others in the organization. This can be seen as he authorizes another department to make an offer to Cam. Vince Mangini, Vice President of Professional Services (PS), has reward power and is able to compensate Cam for joining his department with a higher salary and a larger bonus. Cam Archer has the expert power and he wields is well. He has become a more-rounded team player and is continuing to gain credibility and experience in the company. And Regan Kessel has the referent power since he has gained the respect of other workers. With over twenty years of experience in the industry, he is a trusted leader. This has been shown by the relocation of the marketing team under his purview.

There are two forms of power; personal and positional. As I look for promotion within my organization I am seeking more positional power, such as formal authority and autonomy. Over the years, I have successfully gained credence with my personal power through demonstration of my expertise and track record. "It is not just what they have done, but how they have done it. Those who have a positive track record have more power than those who do not (Hill, pg. 14)." I have also noticed

Power is not always considered evil and is often contained within the position of authority. Power in an organization is the ability to perform an act they want done. The essence of power is to control the behavior of others and without some form of connection this cannot be done. In organizations leadership power stems from the ability to combine positional and personal powers. Power and politics are both dynamic concepts and are a function of interaction between the different elements in the organization. Unfortunately, politics and power is a game that most employees in the organization must learn to deal with. Politics will play a part in the organization as long as people are involved. Organizational politics reduce performance, increase the turnover rate and decrease job satisfaction the workforce. The mention of politics in the workplace and people immediately think of malicious actions that are carried out by self serving people. However power and politics can bring about positive improvement and progress. Perception separates whether the use of power and politics is viewed as positive or negative. In leadership, power and influence is the theme that has been constantly developing over time.

I think the referent power would be the type of influence tactic that would work best for me. It originates from values and morals you set for yourself and your actions. You choose what actions to take because you want others people to follow you. You depend on strongly on your value system. Lying, manipulating others, dishonesty and being unreliable are not examples you want to set for people. Keeping your promises and being dependable are assets and principles that others will be attracted to. People will be more open to your influence. You will find that others will identify those abilities and can find a lot of gratification in being an accepted follower of yours. When you set higher personal standards it has a tendency to to create

“Coercive power is Power that is based on an agent’s ability to cause an unpleasant experience for a target” (Nelson & Quick, 2013, p. 397). The best example of this is quality assurance check. Although it was not setup to cause an unpleasant experience, it has evolved to that. Errors found in the QA check are logged and put on the individual scorecard and thus causing an unpleasant experience for

Referent: Referent power can be obtained through trust and respect. Reference power can be acquired through realizing trust and respect to others in context to handle the situation. For instance, the human resource associate is known for treating employees with respect and

In the Classics of Organization Theory (Ch 6), the definition of Power, by Gerald Salancik, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Robert Allen, and Lyman Porter, is blended to read, “power is the ability to get things done the way one wants them done; it is the latent ability to influence people,” (Shafritz, Ott, & Jang, 2011, p. 272). Robert Michels, John R.P. French JR, Bertram Raven, James G. March, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s discuss four perspective on power in organizations. These perspectives on power can all be found in a military organization, but I find that not all perspectives would be considered as effective way when accomplishing the military’s organizational goals.

Leaders face challenges in many areas including delegation, managing conflict, and building teams (Yukl, 2013). To minimize these and other challenges, guidelines should be established. Leaders must also recognize and understand the various types and uses of power in organizations and how individuals at different levels may employ power. Various theoretical perspectives exist to explain behaviors within organizations; some appear to hold greater relevance than others (Yukl, 2013).

Reward power is basically described in its own name, the rewarding of others for complying, such as the acknowledging of people’s accomplishments, or even money. Coercive power is the fear of being punished for not complying, such as being terminated from their job. Legitimate power is basically the position the leader is in, such as a nurse manager. Referent power comes from being admired and respected. This power gives the leader the ability to influence people just because the others want to be like them. Expert power is the type of power someone can have if they keep up with the current knowledge and keep their skills up to date. This gains enough respect from others to be able to influence them. Information power is having information that others want or need. Connection power is the kind of power someone has when they are in a relationship with or affiliated with people who are perceived as powerful. By understanding the sources of power and the authority in having a position, the leader is better able to be influential in getting people to accomplish their common goals. (Cherry and Jacob, 2014)

Power is not without its temptations. At one time or another many of us have harbored a secret fantasy to “club that lethargic laggard between the eyes so he will understand what needs to get done.” Some upper level managers with a reservoir of power could actually do so. History and literature, including management literature, are replete with notorious examples of power abuse and the disasters that emanated from them. If managers lack this historical perspective, or an engrained sense of ethics, they must hope that at least the rudder of their own temperament will guide them successfully. Without any of these supports, a myopic mindset may impel them to use their power in destructive ways, eventually dissipating it.

Coercive power: being able to punish others for not doing what needs to be done

Coercive power is an individual’s ability to influence others’ behavior by punishing their undesirable behavior as defined in Hellriegel, Slocum, Woodman (2001). In addition, Barlow had proven his expertise through his knowledge, and connection through his network. This also grant him them expert power, which is defined as one’s ability to influence other’s behavior because of competencies, talent, and specialized knowledge in Hellriegel, Slocum, Woodman (2001). Because the powers that he already obtained, Barlow seek no interest in power as a reward; therefore, Barlow was low on motivation. TA vs. Barlow Barlow’s lack of motivation had caused the TA to conflict with its goal as well. One of the main goals the TA was to improve its relation with the field offices. This goal was being under met because its accounting department was operating inefficiently. The inefficiency was due to Barlow’s attitude toward his work, which was reflected upon his work. A problem exists when the Toll Authority‘s objective was not accomplished. TA had a goal to operate a smooth efficient operation. To achieve this goal, TA had to improve its relations with the field offices, and the reason behind was to eliminate the skimming in the small accounts by the field offices. Unfortunately, the TA’s objective was under met because of Barlow’s lack of motivation, which ironically, TA was liable for because of his past performance appraisal. A predicament can also be found in the case of