Chapter 8 - Leadership as an influence process (Power)

position or situational and personal

• It depends on O’s ability to administer positive valences and to remove negative valences

• The utilization of actual rewards (instead of promises) by O will tend over time to increase the referent power of O over P

• The range of reward power is specific to those regions within which O can reward P for conforming

Problem: by using it you will get compliance but not committment

• you incentivice people to do exactly what gives them the reward -> over time you get numb to that reward = the meaning changes

• we discount value / economic discount over time

  -> you have to increase reward all the time

• if it gets detected that someone gets more you loose reward power

• This power stems from the expectation of P that he will be punished by O if he fails to conform to the influence attempt

• Coercive power leads to dependent change

• Reward power will tend to increase the attraction of P toward O; coercive power will decrease this attraction

here you only get compliance

Very contextualized e.g. professor looses legitimate power after course ends

• This power stems from internalized values in P which dictate that:

  • O has a legitimate right to influence P

  • P has an obligation to accept this influence

• Bases for legitimate power

  • Cultural values

  • Acceptance of the social structure

  • Designation by a legitimizing agent

• Range of legitimate power of O/P

  • Areas in which legitimate power may be exercised are specified along with the designation of that power

  • The use of legitimate power which is outside the range of legitimate power will decrease the power of the authority figure

• The referent power of O/P has its basis in the identification of P with O

• A feeling of oneness of P with O

• O has the ability to influence P, even though P may be unaware of this referent power

• The strength of the expert power of O/P varies with the extent of the knowledge or perception which P attributes to O within a given area

• The range of expert power is more delimited than that of referent power

  • The expert is seen as having superior knowledge or ability in very specific areas

e.g. during Covid, peopled stayed at home, followed instructions, because people that have expert power influenced country leaders

e.g. Clipboard in hand asking people to stand up from bench (decorational)

Experiment: expert power can bring someone to kill (original from Milgrim, 65% all the way)

• electric shocks -> wrong multiple choice questions

• strapped in a chair and get shock = teacher sees consequences

• recorded voice that screams -> subjects voice concern - “Experiment requires you to continue”

• 9 out of 12 subjects went to give the fatal shock

Psychopaths can not sympathise with the pain of others