Power and authority are two different concepts but they are closely related.Power is completely different from authority because power is needed in order to establish authority.
Power is defined as “ability of individuals or groups to get what they want despite the opposition”. Power is derived from a variety of sources including knowledge, experience and environmental uncertainties (Denhardt et al, 2001). It is also important to recognize that power is specific to each situation. Individuals or groups that may be entirely powerful in one situation may find themselves with little or no power in another. The manager of Super Fine Pty Ltd, who is my Dad, is a perfect example. In running the company, he can exercise the managerial power to run the company. Power is difficult to measure and even to recognize, yet it plays a major role in explaining authority. In organizations, power is most likely exercised in situations where “the stakes are high, resources are limited, and goals and processes are unclear” (Denhardt et al, 2001). The absence of power in organizations forces us to rely on soley hierarchical authority.
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When power becomes legitimate, it is then recognized as authority (Denhardt et al, 2001). Power becomes authority when it is accepted and even desired by society. As stated by the course study notes, “authority refers to a situation where a person (or group) has been formally granted a leadership position”. An individual has authority when everyday norms and regulations support the exercising of power by that individual. In an organizational setting, “authority is hierarchal and vested in positions”, which are defined by “organizational charts, positions and rules”. Generally, power in authority also involves the possibility of rewards such as promotions and good performance reviews. The negative side of this is that it also presents the possibility of punishments, such as disciplinary actions and demotions. Power by way of authority is a more formal form of power. Authority figures within an organization are granted a level of power which individuals must comply with.
Power in Organizations:-
Power is the ability of one person to influence another. They can use this power to become leaders and to manage businesses. Power also brings influence on the behavior and attitudes of other people. This can be applied to customers and/or suppliers. The demand for power is common among the business world. There is a difference in power and authority. Only people who hold formal positions have authority, whereas all people at any level of an organized company have the power to influence other people. Authority is power. It is power on another level. Power is obvious and understood, while authority is vested in a particular position. An example of such a position of authority would be the CEO of a company or a GM. The distinguishing aspect however lies between the position and the need to become more powerful.
Where there is power, there are also consequences that go along with it. It depends on how the power is used and to whom it is inflicted. The consequences range from a number of general effects. There are three specific examples of this. They are commitment, compliance, and resistance. Power is the stronghold for the three fold outcome that is brought on through consequences.
Commitment:-
Commitment can be as simple as following through with the task at hand or lack thereof. It is best defined in this way, “when the followers welcome the influence process and accept it as reasonable and legitimate.” Commitment can be shown through an employee’s ability to complete the task they are given by the person with more power than they possess. They will change their ideals to match that of the higher authority. If the CEO of a company says that his proposal is going to change, in the mind of the employee, they agree to change theirs as well. The employees, or people of lower authority, believe in the success of the company, they are fully committed the leader’s ideas. The outcome of commitment is accepting without a doubt that whatever the leader says goes.
Compliance:-
Compliance determines asking someone to do something or perform a job, but they are not committed to it. They go along with their leader simply because they have to; it is party of their job. They could be doing it out of fear that they may fail or become jobless if they do not follow through. What sort of leader wants their co-workers to appear weak and not as dedicated as they should be? That is why the business leaders of the world want the best they can get? No boss wants to ask twice or to complain about an employee who, to put it simply, just doesn’t care enough.
Resistance:-
Resistance defines when people do not actively agree with their leader or authority figure and passively resist it. This can affect their efficiency as a worker and can set a poor example for the rest of the employees around them. They can set a low standard of thinking that they do not have to do the job because there are other people who can do it instead. They may have the mindset that they are superior or too busy to deal with something that they do not fully agree with. This particular consequence is crucial to the reputation and status of the employee within the company.
Relationship between power and leadership:-
One important factor within power and leadership is the distribution of power. In organizations today, they feel that concentrated power can be detrimental to an organization’s performance. When I say this I mean that more equal power should be distributed throughout the company, bringing about a higher performance in an organization’s operating systems, to make decisions. Power should be equally distributed throughout, with the exception of the authority figures. If companies didn’t have CEO’s or managers, there would be too many power starving people and much more chaos. They keep the business flow organized. They make sure that their employees follow through with their jobs and support the business’s purpose.
Within distribution of power, there are differences in the ways cultures view its importance. For example, “in some cultures the implementation of power sharing is likely to face more obstacles in a culture where sub ordinance do not rely heavily on their superiors.”refrence This is contrary to the common culture that most of us know in our world. For example, in the United States, people would be more likely to respond to managers that they favour or take liking to.
On the contrary, people in overseas countries would be more likely to follow directions that are given by managers who have authentic power or authority. This goes to show how cultural influence has not only an obvious affect, but a psychological one as well. It can propose ideas that need to be honored because the culture believes that it is a better way of doing things. They believe that if they perform a certain way, they are doing things the best way.
Within power in leadership, I have stated the reasons and consequences that appear most relevant. In most companies, the want for power is greatly desired. The more powerful one individual is, the more successful and respected they become. They have a greater influence to the people who follow them, who are looking for a way to find a safe position of status. They need to feel that they are efficient enough to do their job and to make sure people see that quality in them.
Sources of power within leadership:-
Sources of power are part of the second focal point within power and leadership. There are five genuine sources of power. They are legitimate power, reward power, coercive power, expert power, and referent power. All of these prove to be valid in getting a deeper insight to the sources of power. The second aspect within sources of power is using individual sources of power. Sources are described below as follows:-
Legitimate power: – Legitimate power is “based on person holding a formal position. Others may comply because they accept the legitimacy of the position of the power holder.” it is going to have the most fulfillments out of all other powers. It is better described as having power, but abilities to give rewards and punishments are limited. Once leaders lose their position of authority, they lose their influential meaning for others.
Reward power:- Reward power is “based on a persons’ access to rewards. Others comply because they want the rewards the power holder can offer.”Once the access to the rewards or punishment is taken away by the organization, people start to resist the leader and his demands. This by far is one of the worst powers to orchestrate your company due to the potential resistance level of the employees’ situation.
Coercive power:- Coercive power is determined by person’s ability to punish. Others comply because they fear punishment.It also has the potential reaction for resistance. Punishment serves as an intimidator in this case. Fear of punishment is not the same as respect of authority. Employees are more likely to resist when they know that they will be punished because it takes away their dignity and respect for themselves in a working environment.
Expert power:-
Expert power depends on a person’s expertise, competence, and information in a certain area. Others comply by, they believe in the power holder’s knowledge and competence. This power shows as having a potential reaction in the compliance area. If a leader proves to be educated and well trained in an area of business, the employees will abide and follow his wants and demands. If not however, the drive to succeed and meet the demands is absent.
Referent power:-
Referent power is influenced by person’s attractiveness to find a friendship with others. Others comply because they respect and like the power holder. This type of power has the best potential for committed employees. They agree with their surroundings and the people who hold authority over them. It is not like an intimidating or difficult work place, but one that agrees with their skills and beliefs. When the superior and employee get along and hold a relationship that is positive, it accounts for a mutual understanding of the business requirements.
Along with these five sources, there is the individual source and how it is used. Influence comes into play because it is related to power. Power brings about change in compatibility. Powerful leaders could or could not influence subordinates’ behaviors, or influence can occur without a specific source of power. Personal appeal depends on referent power and usually occurs with co-workers. This is likely to relate to commitment. Inspiration and influence persuade workers, while superiors moderate their organizations.
There are different ways of the power to come from either internal or external. It stems forth from great leadership skills and a dependable foundation. To form the analysis of why there is power, there are five sources which are tied in
Dark side of power:-
The dark side of power is the major phase within leadership. There are different reasons of it which brings consequences and solutions that go along with it. This does not mean that all power is used with the same mind set. Some is used for the common welfare of all people, while other forms are one sided. Basically the grey side of power is when leaders succeed at the employees’ expense. Without accountability, excessive power brings many negative consequences. Too much power is blamed for different spoils, ranging from financial waste, fraud and sexual harassment.
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Some of the causes such dark side comes from leaders, who create the distance from others. They put their abilities up on a pedestal, portraying their view of themselves as being superior to others around them. One of the biggest causes power addiction is due to too much praise of the leader for simple things, flattering that the leader is always right. Another is when the leader imposes his thought above all others, considering his junior is incapable because whatever he says goes. A prime example of such a corruption is allowing a retired CEO to come back and receive benefits and all of the company incentives, while stepping down from the CEO position.
Consequences of dark side of power:-
There are also some consequences of dark side of the power. On a general level, having a distance from others in the organization itself leads to poor decision making because they lack the information needed to make good judgments. Another consequence of excessive power is a sense of immorality; they consider themselves subject to different rules than their subordinates which creates unethical and illegal behavior in leaders while expecting their subordinates to follow instruction at every cost. One last consequence is the devaluing to followers. Jeopardizing their self-worth to better the superior’s standings is another way to put it. This can result in an overly assumed sense of control that makes the follower feel weak and incompetent.
Some of the solutions are that could narrow the gap between followers and leaders is to involve them in day-to-day activities, minimizing the follower’s dependency on the leader, and involving outsiders in decision making. These things can help up to some extent to prevent excessive centralization of power and abuse.
Through the causes, consequences, and solutions associated with the dark side of power, discussion can be evaluated for many things. They are just three ways to divide what the dark side of power actually is and who culprit is associated with it. Once deeper understanding about the dark side of power has gained, preventions and modifications can be implemented to deter these things from coming between a leader and a follower.
Everyone wants to become a leader to have a superiority complex and respect by other subordinates. Being leader and a superior is great fulfillment to our self-esteem due to the reason that power to control over things and demand of whatever we want and we gain respect from the others. But we must put in our mind that being a leader, it is not an easy to perform by everyone. The essence of being a leadership is to come down at subordinate’s level and listen to them in order to inspire in working. As a leader they must see it that they are accessible and available all the time to their subordinates.
Effective leader:-
To become an effective leader, a leader should possess some skills in managing their people. These skills include communication, trustworthy and confidence. Leader must provide clear instructions to their subordinates and provide some insights about the nature of their work, let them know about the worth of their work for the organization and how they will be able to contribute the progress of their institution or their company. Good leaders are not born, they are made. They must undergo a process of thorough self-examining, education, training and experience, it helps them to make their subordinates in determining their work and become focus in everything they do. In these processes the teamwork will be enhanced. The leaders must also know and aware of some specific things in order to make him an effective leader. He should have the understanding about the difference between leader and a boss, where being a leader his follower aim high to achieve the goal while being a boss the subordinates will become intimidate and not able to give their best.
Leadership is applicable to all aspects as long there are group that are working together. A group must have a leader in order to have there is a systematic flow of organizations. In applying effective leadership into a certain institution like managing or running a school, there must be a leader who will guide the people in their doing and to have a systematic outcome.
In a school culture, leadership is very important for the reason that they are molding the next generation leader. For which, effective leadership skills, the headmasters must be capable enough in handling their subordinates. Where the headmasters must be approachable and available at all time moreover being a leader they should segregate the information to their subordinates having clear instructions. With this proper communication, the subordinates will be able to give their best. For instance, if there is conflict arising between of their subordinates it can easily fix through a proper counseling in that case it will not become bigger. Furthermore, if there are any complaints from the students it can easily figure out. With regards to this situation the subordinates will be competing with each other but instead they are working as teamwork.
Conclusion:-
Through an effective leadership it will make the subordinates to become responsible and independent to work their job. Having an effective leadership of a certain management it attracts lots of competent people applying in different position, in this case it will uplift the standard of an institution that there are lots of people will be trusting them and gain respect which is a fulfillment of being a leader where we can learn a lesson that is worth to keep.
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Global leadership and personal power by Jeffrey grandz- iveybusiness journal.
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