Understanding the five forms of power

chika ebuzor

17 June 2015 11:31 PM

What kind of power do you possess? Understand how these forms of power affect your output.

Five forms of power.

Power and leadership are synonymous. They go hand in hand. Team members follow a leader, because of the power vested in his office.

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Leaders are respected by their followers because the leader has the power to either sack, discipline or reward them.

Social Psychologists- John French and Bertram Raven discovered that there are five forms of power and they are:

1. Reward Power: People with this kind of power can give rewards, raises, promotions etc. They problem about this kind of power is that you are only relevant when you have can offer rewards. The moment you fail, you are discarded. It even makes people centred on gratification, rather than following for principles.

2. Coercive Power: This style of leadership is mostly mis-used. This kind of power thrives on threats. The threats of sack, pay-cut or demotion, will make people follow you, or act in the way you want. The question is will they still follow you when you lose our position and power?

3. Expert Power: This kind of power thrives on the display of expertise or knowledge of a subject matter. People tend to respect you, when you show mastery of a subject. It is not positional.

4. Referent Power: This can also be termed as natural power. It is the kind of power that celebrities wield. A team member who has charm can also be endowed with such power and authority by his peers. Some management scholars say this is the best form of power.

5.Legitimate Power: This kind of power is described as positional or Political power. It is temporary. You will be respected as long as you remain in that position.

chika ebuzor