PART A: Leader Power and Impacts on Followers
Types of Leader Power
There are five major types of leader power. These include coercive, referent, legitimate, expert, and reward power.
Coercive power entails the use of one’s influential ability to reprimand others. It is characterized by a leader’s use of his or her authority to threaten, punish, or intimidate the followers (Merchant, n.d.). In essence, it involves the use of an authoritative rule to force the followers to act in alignment with the leader’s will.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Referent power derives from the respect and admiration a leader attracts through his or her relations with the followers. It is usually an outcome of the qualities the leader depicts in interpersonal interactions with others. Charisma plays a major role in yielding referent power as it increases the chances of the leader’s likability. One’s relations with people on the top of the organization’s hierarchy also enable him or her to attain referent power (Merchant, n.d.).
Legitimate power entails formal power vested in a person due to the position he or she holds in a given context. It is the power that yields the belief that one has an ability to make a demand and gain the compliance of others without any hesitations or questioning (Merchant, n.d.). A company’s CEO, for instance, is in a position to direct a particular occurrence in an organization as he or she is revered and is readily perceived as a leader.
Expert power aligns with the possession of skills and knowledge by a person. While in a crowd, a person who is more knowledgeable than others in a specific field is perceived as powerful due to his or her capacity to comprehend the situation, offer solid judgment, suggest workable solutions, and outperform others (Raven, 2008). With expert power, one gains the attention, trust, and reverence of others, and the value of the ideas that derive from such expertise may stimulate the acceptance of others for a leadership position.
Reward power derives from one’s capacity to offer something in alignment with good or outperforming deeds. In general, people in leadership positions have a better chance to reward their subordinates for better performance or outstanding accomplishments. Reward power is a major source of motivation in organizations as people tend to work harder when they anticipate a reward for better or outstanding performance (Lunenburg, 2011).
How the Five Types of Power Impact and/or Motivate Followers
Each of the five types of power impacts on the followers in different ways, particularly in alignment with workplace motivation. Coercive power affects the followers by creating fear in them in alignment with the sanctions or threats posed by the leader. While a follower will do anything to ensure full compliance with the demands of the leader, there are high levels of dissatisfaction and low morale in the followers’ undertakings (Haffer, 2017). Production may be optimal as the organizational targets tend to be met in alignment with the leader’s demands. However, the quality of production may be adversely affected as followers will tend to focus more on the completion of the assigned duties than the perfection of the tasks.
Referent power emerges as the best way through which to motivate the followers. Through the use of charisma, a leader can interact freely to identify the barriers to optimal production and also find suggestions for further improvement from the followers. The leader’s collaboration and consultation with the followers, coupled with inspirational and personal appeals (Haffer, 2017), may go a long way in motivating the followers and strengthening relationships that yield outstanding performance outcomes in the organization.
The effectiveness of legitimate power depends on the approach taken by the leader in influencing his or her followers. Since it derives from the position held by a leader in a given context, the leader may opt to use the elements of power that enhance the followers’ satisfaction with their endeavors while avoiding aspects of power that may lead to low morale. In this light, the impacts of legitimate power on the followers depend on the leadership style.
Expert power depends on the qualities of both the followers and the leader. A leader who wishes to influence the lives of others in a positive manner will do so if the followers are willing to learn from the way he or she approaches situations. Experts have the advantage of attracting the attention of their followers and can, therefore, influence their followers to move toward a particular direction that yields benefits to the organization in terms of performance and productivity.
Reward power is highly dependent on the kind of rewards adopted by the leader. When employees get used to some rewards, this kind of power can weaken to an extent of having no influence at all. Reward power, therefore, requires a renewal of the rewards for motivation to occur (Lunenburg, 2011). It is also advisable to seek the suggestion of one’s followers to know the kind of rewards that they value.
Position and Personal Power
The five types of power are classified into two broad categories: personal and position power. Referent and expert power are categorized under personal power due to their connection to interpersonal relationships and personality traits. Referent power is something that one gains through the traits he or she exposes in the course of interacting with others. Charisma plays a critical role in one’s attainment of referent power. Expert power aligns with one’s level of knowledge and skills. It is the kind of power that one can gain through education or specialized training. One’s expertise can be judged through his or her approach to situations and the ideas he or she offers in a specific challenging context.
Position power includes legitimate, coercive, and reward power. It is founded on a person’s ranking within a given context and his or her capacity to drive followers’ compliance without necessarily applying force. Legitimate power aligns with the reverence a person gets from followers due to his or her ranking in the leadership hierarchy of a given context. A leader’s position may also yield coercive and/or reward power where the leader may opt to use intimidation or appreciative gestures to drive his or her will.
PART B: Sources of Fuld’s Power
The major source of Fuld’s power was legitimate. As a CEO, he had the power to drive the company’s undertakings and targets. He also utilized coercive power where his presence alone created fear among his followers. His capacity to fire an employee due to minor issues and the violent outlook he presented in various situations are some of the aspects of his coercion.
The leadership style of Fuld also depicts expert power as he was perceived as one of the most competent traders. He also utilized his expertise to deny his involvement in corrupt deals. Fuld also demonstrates referent power as he is described as someone of a high class and one who could attract followers to move toward his direction. Reward power was also part of his influential tactics, particularly to people he liked and good performers.
PART C: Power Corruption
Fuld was quite corrupt in his utilization of power. Some of the instances of power corruption include failure to accept his faults despite being accountable to the downfall of the company. Secondly, he denied having any knowledge of the transactions involved in shuffling and hiding the firm’s risks and bad assets. Third, Fuld used his influence to persuade government officials to intervene in preventing his company’s downfall yet he had failed to listen to his advisors and other experts when presented with deals that could save his company prior to the declaration of the firm’s bankruptcy. Fourth, while Fuld rewarded good performers, it is evident that he did not reward all who deserved but those who were likable to him. The perception of his firm’s superiority to others presents him as a selfish leader and one who was guided by self-interest rather than the welfare of his firm and others who could benefit the country’s economy.
References
Haffer, C. (2017). Sources of leadership power and follower effectiveness. Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved from https://sites.psu.edu
Lunenburg, F. C. (2011). Expectancy theory of motivation: Motivating by altering expectations. International Journal of Management, Business and Administration, 15 (1), 1-6.
Merchant, P. (n.d.). 5 sources of power in organizations. Houston Chronicles. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com
Raven, B. H. (2008). The bases of power and the power/interaction model of interpersonal influence. Analysis of Social Issues and Public Policy, 8 (1), 1-22. Doi: 10.1111/j.1530.2415.2008.00159.x
