Discussion – Power and Influence

Discussion – Power and Influence

Power is crucial to the performance of functions of management and leadership. It is more about getting things done than merely dominating employees. Powerful managers get more things done, acquire more resources for employees, and help their followers develop and grow. As a manager, I believe my success will depend on my ability to influence others.

One of the sources of power available to me is reward power. It is the ability to link positive organizational outcomes to an individual employee’s performance (Champoux, 2020). Working with highly experienced employees means some will perform exemplary. Outstanding team members get rewards through pay increments, time-offs, or praise (Bal et al., 2008). Using reward power to appreciate employees endears them to a manager.

Another potential power base available to me as a team leader is information power. Information power originates from the deliberate control of the organization’s receipt and distribution of information (Champoux, 2020). Team members will approach the leader, hence creating a power centre whenever there is information scarcity. With such power, one can control followers. Also, I will use my punitive power to derive coercive power. The right to penalize employees if they go against organizational objectives gives a manager power (Champoux, 2020). Employees will stay on course if they feel a manager will give them negative performance feedback.

Confrontation and negotiation are used to resolve conflicts within the team. In this method, conflicting parties gather physically to discuss their disagreements (Stewart et al., 2019). When using this conflict resolution mechanism, the hope is that conflicting parties will reach a means of agreement. An excellent example of this type of conflict resolution is contract negotiation between managers and employees’ unions. Managerial-employee conflicts are deemed to have been resolved if a ‘win-win’ situation emerges.

References

Bal, V., Campbell, M., Steed, J., & Meddings, K. (2008). The role of power in effective leadership. Center for Creative Leadership. Retrieved from www.ccl.org, 4-20.

Champoux, J. E. (2020). ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR: integrating individuals, groups, and organizations. Routledge.

J Stewart Black, Gardner, D. G., Pierce, J. L., Steers, R. M., & Openstax College. (2019). Organizational Behavior. Openstax, Rice University; Ann Arbor, Mi.

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You have recently been hired to lead a team comprised of relatively long-term, experienced employees. Their performance has been generally satisfactory; however, changes are coming and it will be your job to affect this change. As the “new sheriff” in town, what sources of power and influence are available to you? Which do you feel would be most successful and why? What are the potential consequences of your using the types of power and influence you identified? How do you think you would best be able to resolve any conflicts within the team?