Module 4 - Power and Influence

What are the personal characteristics linked to power? (7)

Ambition, energy, focus, self-knowledge, confidence, empathy, and ability to tolerate conflict

How can you alter your management style?

Become aware of current style through executive coaching or seeking objective feedback from peers and subordinates. Then, actively seek to alter behaviors by adopting the behaviors of the type of manager you want to be like. Can emulate a role model of that type, get assigned to that person as a subordinate, or ask the person to be your mentor.

Barriers to power: just world effect

Belief that good things happen to good people, if you play by the rules, you will win

Why do people want to work for a boss who has organizational power?

Bosses with power can give employees visibility, upward mobility, and resources. Working for a powerful boss gives an aura of authority to subordinates. Powerless bosses are more likely to behave in an authoritarian, "tyrannical" way toward employees, because they may feel frustrated with their lack of real power. This may lead to frustration, poor morale, and ineffectiveness among the employees themselves.

Bases of power (formal power)

Coercive power, reward power, legitimate power

Power and confidence

Greater confidence inversely related with accuracy. High-power Ps are less likely to have correct confidence intervals. Engaging in risky behavior: generally, males are more likely to. But high power people in general engage in more risky behavior.

Why should you want power?

Health, wealth, and efficacy.

Approach-related effects of power

High power: BAS activation, body prepared for acting, low capacity for thinking Low power: BIS activation, body prepared for thinking, low capacity for acting

Applying liking

Highlight similarities, give compliments, tasks requiring cooperation, attractiveness (social, physical), smile

Referent power

Identification with person, admiration and respect Trust that someone cares about the group; likeability and charisma

Applying scarcity

Time pressure (last day to buy); not many (only giving this opportunity to five people), scarce information (not public knowledge yet), competition (how to sell your car)

Applying social proof

Use the power of the crowd: statistics, likes/subscribers on social media, canned laughter, seeding the tip jar, descriptive norms (e.g., binge drinking)

Legitimate power

Authority from one's formal position Broader than just coercion or rewards; includes members' acceptance of the authority of a position

What are the three types of managers?

1. Affiliative managers 2. Personal power managers 3. Institutional managers

Power as dependency (video lecture)

A has power over B if: 1) they have control over something B values (importance) 2) B cannot obtain it elsewhere (scarcity) 3) B cannot easily find another source/substitute (non-substitutability) Reduce someone's power over you by eliminating importance, scarcity, and non-substituability

Reward power

Ability to provide positive benefit Reward with money or resources; provide attention or praise; offer access, information, relationships

Coercive power

Ability to punish. Fear based, based in ability to terminate, reduce salary, assign to undesirable shifts/tasks; embarrass publicly, withhold information or desired actions.

Applying authority

Acquire and highlight symobls of expertise, such as dress, nonverbal communication; degrees, titles, achievements, start a high-quality blog, get support from a prominent individual

How can you deal with an affiliative manager?

Affiliative managers may endanger your career in two ways: 1) won't be consistent in making decisions, meaning you can't anticipate his behavior, and 2) is likely to lose authority and status quickly. Thus, employees will work for a weakened boss and may not get resources and visibility to build a career. Best advice: look for a move.

What emotion is most often used to express power?

Anger

3. Principle of Social Proof

People will follow the lead of their peers, so use peer power whenever possible. Use horizontal influence, utilize social evidence of what people should be doing.

Personal power manager

Personal need for power outweighs need to be liked. Generally leads in a democratic fashion, is good at getting loyalty, team spirit from employees because they seek out power for themselves and their subordinates. However, tend not to be good institution builders; may not get along well with other departments, for example, risking employees' career with the company.

Two types of leadership style (concern for...)

Concern for people: people are path to company success, care about subordinate feelings and well-being Concern for task: task is path to company success, make sure task is structured and subordinates achieve performance goals

Nonverbal signals for power

Dress like the powerful, posture, direct eye contact, conversational dominance (more time speaking, interrupting others, directness in speech)

Applying consistency (commitment)

Establish that request is consistent with person's values and past behaviors, make small requests before larger ones, ask people to publicly commit, point out how your request stems from one of their past ideas or behaviors

Bases of power (personal power)

Expert power, referent power

Expert power

Expertise, skills, and knowledge

Effects of power on the powerful

Illusory control, action-orientation, overconfidence, risk-taking, need to demonstrate competence

What are the most effective types of power?

Personal power (expert and referent) is the most effective. Positively related to employee satisfaction with supervision, organizational commitment, and performance. Reward and legitimate power unrelated to these outcomes. Coercive power negatively related to employee satisfaction and commitment.

What are the six fundamental principles of persuasion? (Robert Cialdini)

Liking, Reciprocity, Social Proof, Consistency, Authority, Scarcity. Never use the principles of persuasion in a way that's not ethical.

What is the general attitude toward power?

Many people distrust people who pursue power, and connect the idea of power with corruption. However, neither organizations nor society can function without the application of power. Also, the general attitude does not transfer entirely to the workplace; generally people would rather work for a leader who has organizational power.

Affiliative managers

More interested in being liked than getting the job done. Decisions and procedures are more in line with making everyone happy than the requirements of the job at hand. Key goals not met. The weakest and least effective type of manager.

Institutional managers

Need power more than need to be liked, but also deploy power in service of the whole organization, not just for personal ends. Generally are highly organization-minded, strong work ethic, willing to sacrifice some self-interest for welfare of the organization, and believe in rewarding individuals who work hard toward organizational goals. Best managers to work for.

2. Principle of Reciprocity

People are more willing to give back if they have received something in return. Could be gifts or incentives (which is a little cruder), or illicit desired behavior by displaying first, or help others to increase your chances of getting helped in the future.

5. Principle of Authority

People defer to experts, they will believe in someone whose expertise is evident. People often assume (wrongly) that their experience is evident, but you have to actively make sure that you establish expertise. Tell stories about your experience in conversation, or display your diplomas, whatever.

Dependency and power

People mistakenly believe that their formal authority automatically comes with power. However, people in power are still highly dependent on others. Dependency is not eliminated with the acquisition of formal power. Dependency restrains the concentration and the autocratic use of power.

6. Principle of Scarcity

People want more of what they can have less of. Highlight unique benefits and exclusive information. Power of loss language: people respond more to potential losses than potential gains. Also, more exclusive info is more persuasive. But you should never indicate that the info is exclusive unless it actually is.

1. Principle of Liking

People will do more for people who they like, so you should aim for the two factors that increase liking: similarities (establish early, informal conversation) and praise (could generate liking or repair dysfunctional relationships).

4. Principle of Consistency

People will do things that they've clearly committed to. Once people go on the record in favor of a position/process will stick to it. People want to be seen as consistent, so take advantage of this by getting them to write down their commitments, or let them know you've shared their commitments with others.

How can you deal with a personal power manager?

Personal power managers may endanger your career by forcing you to choose between the interests of your unit/department and those the company as a whole, putting your relationship/progressions with the company at risk. Best advice: 1) Be loyal to your boss, but not to extent that you go clearly against company/shareholders 2) Build and maintain individual network of contacts in the company 3) Develop personal reputation for high integrity and standard among others in the company

Building a contact network

Potential contacts don't necessarily have to be close friends. Could literally be anyone you know, even if they don't care about you. Large network of weak ties is better than small network of loyal ties.

Power and competence

Power increases need to feel competent. People in high-power roles who feel low sense of own competence feel threatened, respond to successes with arrogant pride, and are more aggressive toward others to make up for threatened egos. Beware those with power but no status (more likely to choose demeaning tasks and activities.)

Define power in an organizational context.

Power is the potential to allocate resources and to make and enforce decisions. This includes: 1. Determine compensation for subordinates 2. Obtain funding, materials, or staff for projects 3. Have access to important information 4. Resolve disputes 5. Clear away barriers to progress 6. Determine key goals and marshal resources Supervisors and managers need power to do their job.

Barriers to power: self

Pursuing power not part of your identity, concerned about what others might think, don't feel like you're cut out for power (lack of confidence)

Applying reciprocity

Send links to articles, give small gifts, write encouraging notes, offer to do a favor, ask for favors, "I know you'd do the same for me"

Conflict handling styles

Spectrum of assertive on the y-axis, cooperative on the x-axis. Competing: high assertive, low cooperative Avoiding: low assertive, low cooperative Accommodating: low assertive, high cooperative Collaborating: high assertive, high cooperative Compromising: mid assertive, mid cooperative

Powerlessness in First-Line Supervisors

Symptoms: close, rules-minded supervision; tendency to do things oneself, blocking subordinates' developments and information; resistant, underproducing subordinates. Sources: routine, rules-minded jobs with little control over events; limited lines of information; few prospects for advancement for oneself/subordinates.

Powerlessness in Top Executives

Symptoms: focus on internal cost-cutting, producing short-term results, punishing failure; dictatorial, top-down communication. Sources: uncontrollable lines of supply because of environmental changes; limited or blocked lines of information from below.

Powerlessness in Staff Professionals

Symptoms: turf protection, information control; retreat into professionalism, resistance to change. Sources: routine tasks seen as peripheral to "real" tasks; blocked careers; easy replacement by outside experts.