Developing Manager’s Power Base

Defining Power Base 

Manager’s power base is defined as the use of various methods by leaders and managers of an organization to influence their junior staff members. The style of leadership employed by a manager could generally involve providing goals and objectives, showing the direction to be taken, enhancing the implementation of plans, and providing motivation. However, some managers may assume that having power means that one has the authority to have employees work in precisely the same manner as ordered. On the other hand, power is crucial, since there cannot be correct services offered to clients if no one is in a position of power. Managers in healthcare organizations require to have a strong power base to assist staff, patients, as well as other clients in achieving their health goals (Borkowski, 2016). There is, therefore, a need for these managers to develop their manager’s power base for ultimate service delivery. The paper describes various methods used by managers to produce the required power base.

Becoming Experts 

In healthcare organizations, gaining power and rising the ladder of leadership is a difficult task, and managers attempt this process by using the most basic method, cultivating popularity through becoming an expert in specific areas (Clay-Williams et al., 2017). For one to become an expert, however, massive efforts must be put into action. Consequently, the potential manager will have a consistent superior performance as compared to others in the given field. Moreover, one must produce excellent results by heightening the patient satisfaction while working accurately. If their track records and achievements are coveted, attaining power becomes easy.

Developing an Atmosphere of Obligation 

Managers who are obsessed with building a power base are capable of using any strategy at their exposure to attain that power. One of these drastic methods is creating an atmosphere of obligation (Borkowski, 2016). Most managers will create this environment by offering favors to individuals in the institution who they believe would feel a responsibility to return the favors. Thus, when the time to climb the leadership ladder comes, they will have the support of employees they helped in one way or another.

Forging Reliance 

Some managers use such measures as creating a belief that other workers in the organization are dependent on the manager for assistance or to avoid getting hurt. To accomplish this forging of reliance, a manager may secure resources, for instance, access to the drug store. Hence, the workers will have to contact him to get these resources (Gopee & Galloway, 2017). Moreover, other managers will indicate that they have the power to retrieve those resources at their will. Some managers may opt to create a perception of having in control of more resources than they possess. While creating these perceptions, managers make sure they attract power as they build their professional image. They also focus on developing associations with influential organizations and people.

Identification 

Although some managers are ready to use aggressive strategies to attain power, others may find it best to do so from a different perspective. Just like first being an expert, some managers choose to do intensive research on the needs and motivations of fellow staff members. Therefore, when giving speeches or assisting in team tasks, they will try to spread ideas that solve the problems of other health workers (Gopee & Galloway, 2017). Once the ideas get into the minds of these team members, they will subconsciously identify themselves with the leader and the ideas he supports. Other managers will attempt to behave and dress in a way that is respectable in the eyes of their employees. Thus, they capture admiration from the workers and consequently attain the power to influence the processes of the healthcare institution. 

References 

Borkowski, N. (2016).  Organizational behavior in health care . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Clay-Williams, R., Ludlow, K., Testa, L., Li, Z., & Braithwaite, J. (2017). Medical leadership, a systematic narrative review: do hospitals and healthcare organisations perform better when led by doctors?.  BMJ open ,  7 (9), e014474.

Gopee, N., & Galloway, J. (2017).  Leadership and management in healthcare . Sage.