Power and Influence

A511.3.3.RD – Power and Influence

Power and influence are very important and yet very misunderstood phenomenon’s.  Many people think that the more power you have the more you can get done and with that power comes much influence.    There is also a common misconception that power is automatic depending on the position you hold (I’m the boss do it my way because I have power).  There a several different types of power such as coercive, referent, expert, reward, legitimate, information, ecological, and position or personal power (Yukl, 2013).  These types are used and expressed in several different ways.  The example above is position power, coercive power is based on threats or punishments based on behavior.  One can have expert power if they are knowledgeable on a specific area or function.  Referent power refers to a person’s ability to be liked or have good personal relations with others.  As you can see there are many types and ways to have and use power.   I believe however, that you attain your power by mastering the art of influence.  John Maxwell said it best when he stated “leadership is influence-nothing more, nothing less.” (Maxwell, 1998 p. 17).  Those who have influence have power.  It is the person you catch yourself asking “why is everyone gravitating that way?” who have the power.  Yes a person who is placed in a higher position wields some power however, this will only be temporary.  Once the people he or she has power over get frustrated they will begin to go against the grain.  However, a true leader and one who has mastered the art of influence will have immense power.  Look at leaders like General Patton whose men would follow him into what seemed like an un-winnable battle.  Or leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who had followers who would risk life and limb for him.  These people are the ones who truly have power and it is only through their expert influence they achieve this power.

Within my work center power comes from rank and position.  In the military what we perceive as power comes from the rank you attain.  What I mean by this is that if someone who outranks you asks you to do something you have to do it (as long as it’s legal).  This however, in my opinion is not power.  Real power is possessed by those who have both the rank required to perform the specific job and they have that extra thing that makes people want to work for them not just have to work for them.  We have all had those types of bosses who no matter what we believed them and would follow them into any circumstances.   So the nature of power based on rank is your typical position power element.  This makes its way down through the ranks so no matter what situation you are in the ranking individual is the one who will be place in charge.  The United States Air Force has an actual governing document which explains this concept all the way down to the lowest enlisted level.  Air Force Instruction 36-2408 The Enlisted Force Structure defines the roles and responsibilities for personnel who are Airman Basic all the way to Chief Master Sergeant which is the highest enlisted rank.  This however, does not correlate to the individual’s ability to lead.  Just because a person attains a rank does not mean that they are either ready for the increase in responsibility or that they will be a good leader.  I have worked with countless higher ranking individuals who were terrible leaders and also been witness to some up and coming mid rank personnel who could be promoted to the highest rank immediately and be able to handle everything that comes their way.

Othman’s take on Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) is quite interesting.  He and his co-authors look at this from the perspective of a dysfunctional LMX point of view (Othman, 2009).  He bases this on the perception of favoritism and a leaders flawed assessment of members.  This perspective is quite true in my current work environment.  Promotions in the United States Air Force as well as any other work force are hard to come by.  However, within the USAF there is a factor which influences a person’s chance for promotion which fits this theory.  This factor influences both the officer and top two senior enlisted positions.  It is the stratification process.  This is where the wing or installation commander racks and stacks the top people who are eligible for promotion.  Other than a few minor items there is no set criteria for how this process is accomplished.  Therefore there is much room for people to perceive favoritism within the selection process.  If a person is not selected for a stratification and feels they were deserving they will begin to judge those who were selected.  There is a common perception that if you want to be included in this list of people selected you need to be a good politician and be out and about earning lots of “facetime” with the boss.  This perception tends to create groups of personnel who seek out this type of recognition and those who do not.  This creates tension among personnel who are all trying to be promoted within the same ranks.  I think the views of Othman and his co-authors demonstrate how this type of situation would form a dysfunctional leader-member exchange.  It also goes to show how perception plays an integral part in this LMX theory. 

 

Maxwell, J. (1998). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.  Nashville, TN: Thomas

Nelson Inc.

Ee. F., Othman, R., Shi, N. (2009). Understanding Dysfunctional Leader-Member Exchange: Antecedents and Outcomes. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. V. 3, N. 4. Retrieved from: https://erau.instructure.com/courses/35753/pages/a511-dot-3-1-dot-cr-readings-and-presentations?module_item_id=1616370

Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organization (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Prentice Hall.