Ch. 13: Organizational, Political, and Personal Power

Power

can also be defined as the capacity to act or the strength and potency to accomplish something.

For leadership to be effective

some measure of power must often support it. This is true for the informal social group and the formal work group.

under promise

Another dimension of credibility that influences the authority-power relationship is future promising. It is best to do this if promises must be made.

Be Flexible

Anyone wishing to acquire power should develop a reputation as someone who can compromise. The rigid, uncompromising newcomer is viewed as being insensitive to the organization's needs.

Maintain a Sense of Humor

Appropriate humor is very effective. The ability to laugh at oneself and not take oneself too seriously is a most important power builder.

Power builders

always look upward and outward. The successful leader recognizes not only how the individual unit fits within the larger organization but also how the institution as a whole fits into the scheme of the total community.

Power base

another strategy to help empower nurses on your unit is to assist staff nurses in building their own

powerful leaders

are able to raise morale because they delegate more and build with a team effort

Successful leaders

are attentive to the influence of gender on power.

Huston (2017) on power base

argues that nurses are uniquely qualified to hold public office because they have the greatest firsthand experience of problems faced by patients in today's health-care system as well as an uncanny ability to translate the health-care experience to the general public.

Be a proactive decision maker

being proactive means getting the job done better, faster, and more efficiently. Proactive leaders prepare for the future instead of waiting for it.

Their own power

A manager's personal feelings regarding empowerment's potential effect on this can also impede the empowering process. (creates a barrier due to rigid belief about status/power)

Learn to Accept Compliments

Accepting compliments is an art. One should be gracious but certainly not passive when praised for extraordinary effort. In addition, people should let others know when some special professional recognition has been achieved. This should be done in a manner that is not bragging but reflects the self-respect of one who is talented and unique.

political errors

Be prepared as a manager to make these. The key to success is how quickly you rebound.

interdependence

Because power implies this, nurses must not only understand the organizational structure in which they work but also be able to function effectively within that structure, including dealing effectively with the institution's inherent politics.

political strategies (to negate the negative effects of organizational politics)

Become an expert handler of information and communication, proactive decision maker, assuming authority, expanding personal resources, sensitivity to timing, networking, acknowledge/reward subordinates, view goals in terms of the organization, minimize ego driven actions

Learn the Language and Symbols of the Organization

Being unaware of institutional taboos often results in embarrassment for the newcomer.

widening of the authority power gap

Both the women's movement and the student unrest of the 1960s contributed to this in the United States. This was evident when a 1970s college student asked her mother why she did not protest as a college student; the mother replied, "I didn't know I could."

policy setting

Changing nurse's view of both power and politics is perhaps the most significant key to proactive rather than reactive participation in this

Personal

Charismatic power source

Fear

Coercive power source

LEADERSHIP STRATEGIES

DEVELOPING POWER AND POLITICAL SAVVY

Political Strategies

Develop information acquisition skills, Communicate astutely, Become proactive, Assume authority, Network, Expand personal resources, Maintain maneuverability, Remain sensitive to people, timing, and situations, Promote subordinates' identities, Meet organizational needs, Be flexible Minimize ego-driven reactions

Networking

Develop political alliances and coalitions in this manner, the manager keeps abreast of current happenings and consults others for advice and counsel.

narrow authority power gap

Educators who maintain a very _______________________ reinforce dependency and obedience by emphasizing extreme consequences, including the death of the patient. Thus, nursing students may be socialized to be overly cautious and to hesitate when making independent nursing judgments.

Maintain Personal Energy

Effective leaders take sufficient time to unwind, reflect, rest, and have fun when they feel tired. Leader-managers who do not take care of themselves begin to make mistakes in judgment that may result in terrible political consequences.

Knowledge/skill

Expert power source

credible

Finally, the manager must be seen as this for the authority-power gap not to widen. All managers begin their appointment with subordinates ready to believe them

Reward, punishment/coercive, legitimate, expert, referent

French and Raven's classical work regarding the bases or sources of power

Increase Professional Skills and Knowledge

Having knowledge and skill that others lack greatly augments a person's power base. Excellence that reflects knowledge and demonstrates skill enhances a nurse's credibility and determines how others view him or her.

Empower Others

Individual nurses and the profession as a whole do not gain their share of power because they allow others to divide them and weaken them. Nurses can empower other nurses by sharing knowledge, maintaining cohesiveness, valuing the profession, and supporting each other.

Determine the Powerful in the Organization

Individuals must be cognizant of their limitations and seek counsel appropriately. One should know the names and faces of those with both formal power and informal power.

The need for information

Informational power source

Misused

Integrating the leadership role and the functions of management reduces the risk that power will be

Responsibility

Legitimate power has inherent in it the ability to create feelings of obligation or

Position

Legitimate power source

Power-Building Strategies

Maintain personal energy, Present a powerful persona, Work hard, Be a team player, Determine the powerful, Learn the organizational culture, Use organizational priorities, Increase skills and knowledge, Have a broad vision, Use experts and seek counsel, Be visible and have a voice, Accept compliments graciously, Maintain a sense of humor, Empower others

Expert handler of communication

Managers must become artful at acquiring information and questioning others. Delay decisions until adequate and accurate information has been gathered and reviewed.

guarantee future rewards

Managers should never do this unless they have control of all possible variables. If managers revoke future rewards, they lose credibility in the eyes of their subordinates.

empowerment of subordinates

One of the most critical leadership roles in the use of power and authority is this. The leader recognizes that some degree of power is held by all in the organization, including subordinates, peers, and higher administrators.

Present a Powerful Picture to Others

The nurse who stands tall and is poised, assertive, articulate, and well-groomed presents a picture of personal control and power. The manager who looks like a victim will undoubtedly become one.

read the environment

Much attention is given to improving competence, but little time is spent in learning the intricacies of political behavior. The most important strategy is to learn to do this (e.g., understand relationships within the organization) through observation, listening, reading, detachment, and analysis.

Use Experts and Seek Counsel

Newcomers should seek out role models. Role models are experienced, competent individuals an individual wishes to emulate.

Work Hard and Be a Team Player

Newcomers who stand out and appear powerful are those who do more, work harder, and contribute to the organization. They attend meetings and in-service opportunities; they do committee work and take their share of night shifts and weekend and holiday assignments without complaining.

Role model

Once organizational barriers have been minimized or eliminated, the leader should develop strategies at the unit level to empower staff. The easiest strategy is to be a _____ _______ of an empowered nurse.

unique individual

One way for the leader to bridge the gap is to make a genuine effort to know and care about each subordinate as a _______ _________. This is especially important because each person has a limited tolerance of authority, and subordinates are better able to tolerate authority if they believe that the leader cares about them as individuals

delegate assignments

One way that leaders empower subordinates is when they do this to provide learning opportunities and allow employees to share in the satisfaction derived from achievement.

family unit

Our first experience with power usually occurs in the

last resort

Overt displays of authority should be used as a

Socialized

People in the United States are _______ very early to respond to authority figures. In many cases, children are conditioned to accept the directives of their parents, teachers, and community leaders

Action Plan for Increasing the Power of the Nursing Profession

Place more nurses in positions that influence public policy. Increase level of nurses' understanding regarding all health-care policy efforts. Build coalitions within and outside of nursing. Promote greater research to strengthen evidence-based practice. Support nursing leaders. Pay attention to mentoring future nurse-leaders and leadership succession. Stop nurses from acting like victims.

Divisive

Politics becomes ________ only whenever gossip, rumor, or unethical strategies occur.

leadership and management

Power and authority are necessary components of these 2 roles

Association with others

Referent power source

Ability to grant favors

Reward power source

Promote subordinate identification

Rewarding excellence is an effective political strategy.

successful team building

Showing a genuine interest in others, being considerate of other people's needs and wants, and offering others support whenever possible are all part of a

Be sensitive to timing

Successful leaders are sensitive to the appropriateness and timing of their actions.

Authority power gap

The gap that sometimes exists between a position of authority and subordinate response is called the

bridged the authority power gap

The manager will have done this if followers (a) perceive that the manager is doing a good job, (b) believe that the organization has their best interests in mind, and (c) do not feel controlled by authority.

organizational chaos

The negative effect of a wide authority-power gap is that this may develop. There would be little productivity if every order were questioned.

Six Driving Forces to Increase Nursing's Power Base

The timing is right, The size of the nursing profession, Nursing's referent power, Increasing knowledge base and education for nurses, Nursing's unique perspective, Desire of consumers and providers for change

informational power

This source of power is obtained when people have information that others must have to accomplish their goals.

Learn How to Use the Organization's Priorities

Those seeking to build a power base must be cognizant of organizational goals and use those priorities and goals to meet management needs.

Maintain a Broad Vision

Vision is one of the most powerful tools that a leader has in his or her toolbox.

Declines

When followers feel that their needs and wants are immaterial and that the person in charge focuses only on his or her own perspective, their innate motivation to be a good follower ________.

Small authority power gap, empower others, use authority appropriately, implement political strategies when needed

four separate tasks that are key for the leader-manager to establish and keep authority/power in an organization

Having power

gives one the potential to change the attitudes and behaviors of individual people and groups.

Political astuteness

in communication is a skill to be mastered, and the politically astute manager says, "I don't know" when adequate information is unavailable. Grave consequences can result from sharing the wrong information with the wrong people at the wrong time.

Mutual trust

in order to accomplish anything, an air of this must be present between managers and employees. This means that managers need to trust their employees, employees need to trust their managers, and employees need to trust each other.

Personal resources

include economic stability, higher education, and a broadened skill base.

emotional intelligence

includes skills of maintaining personal energy, presenting a powerful picture to others, being a team player, working hard, and successful team building

Not having a commitment to empowerment

is a barrier to creating an environment for empowerment in an organization.

The empowerment of staff

is a hallmark of transformational leadership. To empower means to enable, develop, or allow.

A person's response to authority

is conditioned early through authority figures, experiences in the family unit, and gender role identification.

charismatic power

is distinguished by some from referent power. Referent power is gained only through association with powerful others, whereas this is a more personal type of power.

Expert power

is gained through knowledge, expertise, or experience. Having critical knowledge allows a manager to gain power over others who need that knowledge.

Reward power

is obtained by the ability to grant favors or reward others with whatever they value

Assuming authority

is one way that nurses can become proactive.

Legitimate power

is position power. Authority is also called legitimate power. It is the power gained by a title or official position within an organization.

Referent power

is power that a person has because others identify with that leader or with what that leader symbolizes. also occurs when one gives another person feelings of personal acceptance or approval.

The negative face of power

is the "I win, you lose" aspect of dominance versus submission.

Politics

is the art of using legitimate power wisely. It requires clear decision making, assertiveness, accountability, and the willingness to express one's own views.

truly powerful individuals

know they are powerful and do not need to display this overtly. Instead, their power is evident in the respect and cooperation of their followers

Upholding commitments

makes a manager trustworthy and honorable; not doing so comes across as uncaring and disrespectful.

manager power

may explain subordinates' response to the manager's authority. The more power subordinates perceive a manager to have, the smaller the gap between the right to expect certain things and the resulting fulfillment of those expectations by others.

The positive face of power

occurs when someone exerts influence on behalf of—rather than over—someone or something.

leader-manager who feels powerless

often creates an ineffective, petty, dictatorial, and rule-minded management style. They may become oppressive leaders, punitive and rigid in decision making, or withhold information from others, and they become difficult to work with.

Authority

or the right to command, accompanies any management position and is a source of legitimate power, although components of management, authority, and power are also necessary, to a degree, for successful leadership.

Empowerment

plants seeds of leadership, collegiality, self-respect, and professionalism. For example, "professional practice models, shared governance models, and collaborative governance all use similar processes to increase nurses' participation in decision making, thereby increasing their control over the context of nursing practice and promoting power"

Knudson-Martin

suggests that male power typically does not come from outright acts of domination but from an unacknowledged preeminence of men's priorities, needs, and desires in ways that seem ordinary or natural. In addition, women often contribute to this power imbalance by being far more accommodating and submissive than their male partners.

authority dependence

that begins with our parents and is later transferred to our employers may be an important resource to managers.

key to establishing and keeping authority/power

the leader-manager to be able to accomplish four separate tasks Maintain a small authority-power gap. Empower subordinates whenever possible. Use authority in such a manner that subordinates view what happens in the organization as necessary. When needed, implement political strategies to maintain power and authority.

effective leadership style

the nurse must work in an environment that encourages empowerment, and the empowerment process must include an

Punishment or coercive power

the opposite of reward power, is based on fear of punishment if the manager's expectations are not met. The manager may obtain compliance through threats (often implied) of transfer, layoff, demotion, or dismissal.

Expand personal resources

the proactive nurse prepares for the future by doing this. Some call this the political strategy of "having maneuverability," that is, the person avoids having limited options.

Holding office

the ultimate in political activism.

Physicians

these people use referent power very effectively; society, as a whole, views them as powerful, and they carefully maintain this image.

making promises

to people places you on a fine line between making them very happy and watching them walk out the door.

Power and authority

will be used to increase respect for the position and for nursing as a whole.