Hello, Friends Chai Pelo ☕! So today, we’re going to talk about power – what it means and how it affects our lives, both personally and professionally.
So in simple terms, power is the ability to make things happen – to influence people and events. It can come in many forms, such as formal authority, personal characteristics, or even just very decisions.
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Definitions
Max Weber. Power is ‘the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his will despite resistances’
‘A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do’ -Dahl, R.A.
‘Power as such does not exist’ but power ‘needs to be considered as a productive network which runs through the whole social body’ – Foucault
Power is the social production of an effect that determines the capacities, actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors. It can be developed through a combination of positive traits and characteristics such as social and personal skills, which give individuals influence over their followers.
Power also has importance in our personal and professional lives. As it allows us to cultivate leadership capabilities and achieve goals or objectives.
Whether we realize it or not, power plays a huge role in our personal and professional success. In our personal lives, having a strong sense of personal power can help us build meaningful relationships, make important life decisions, and achieve our goals.
Other hands, lacking personal power can leave us feeling helpless and unable to make the changes we want in our lives.
In our professional lives, power can determine everything from our job title to our salary. But it’s not just about formal authority – even those without a high-level job title can have a significant impact on their company and their colleagues through their personal power that’s why I am here😊.
So, how do we cultivate personal power? It starts with focusing on our self-efficacy and our ability to work well with others. It also means connecting what we do with who we are – aligning our values with our actions and making sure that we’re living our lives in a way that feels authentic and true to ourselves.
Power is a crucial aspect of our lives, both personally and professionally. By understanding what it means and how it affects us, we can work to cultivate our own personal power and use it to achieve our goals and make a positive impact on the world around us.
5 Sources of Power by French and Raven
French and Raven’s original five sources of power are Legitimate, Reward, Coercive, Expert, and Referent. These five sources were later expanded to include Informational, Connection, Charisma, Knowledge, and Resource.
In 1959, social psychologists John French and Bertram Raven identified five original sources of power: legitimate, reward, expert, referent, and coercive.
These sources represent different ways that individuals can hold power and influence others.
- Legitimate power comes from having a formal position of authority, such as a manager or executive.
- Reward power is the ability to give or withhold rewards, such as promotions or bonuses.
- Expert power comes from having specialized knowledge or skills.
- Referent power is based on likability and admiration from others.
- Coercive power is the ability to punish or threaten negative consequences.
But, over time, the concept of power has developed, and Raven later added a sixth source of power: informational power. This refers to the power that comes from having access to valuable information or data that others don’t have.
Today, we have even more sources of power, including connection power (the ability to build and maintain a strong network), resource power (the ability to control access to key resources), and persuasive power (the ability to influence others through clear communication).
So, why is it important to understand the sources of power? Well, by recognizing the different ways that individuals can hold power, we can better understand how power dynamics work in our personal and professional lives.
From this, we can also work to develop our own sources of power and influence, whether that means building our expertise in a particular area, developing strong relationships, or becoming more impressive in communication.
Power can be a Double-Edged Sword ⚔️
Power can be a double-edged sword because it can be used to protect and empower, but also to control and abuse. Abusive supervision, for example, has been found to have a double-edged effect on innovative behaviour, while technology can be used as a double-edged sword in intimate partner violence (IPV).
Misuse of power can also occur when medical professionals exert their power over patients’ bodies.
Power has both positive and negative outcomes, like a double-edged sword. On the one hand, power can be a useful tool that can help individuals achieve their goals and make positive changes in their lives and in the world.
However, power can also be a dangerous force that can be abused and harm to others.
For example, those who hold positions of power may use their authority to exploit and misuse others, resulting in discrimination, harassment, and even violence also. This kind of behaviour can cause long-lasting emotional and physical harm to those who are affected, as well as create a toxic work environment or social climate.
It’s important to understand that power can also be an addictive force, leading some individuals to become possessed with maintaining their status and control over others.
This can result in destructive and selfish behaviour that hurts not only the people around them but also the person having the power.
So we can say that power can be both a blessing and a curse. It’s all upon to the individuals or groups to use it fairly and responsibly, being mindful of the impact that our actions can have on others.
So by recognizing the potential for abuse and striving to use our power in positive ways, we can avoid the negative consequences of this double-edged sword and make a meaningful difference in the world.
10 Sources of Power in Organization
There are ten sources of power, including legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, referent, connection, information, coalition, resource and personal power. Legitimate power is based on a person’s official position, while reward and coercive power depend on the ability to give or take away rewards or punishments.
Expert power is based on knowledge and skills, while referent power is based on admiration and respect. Connection power comes from relationships with influential people, while informational power comes from access to information.
Coalition power is based on the ability to form unions with others, while resource power comes from control over resources such as money or materials.
Finally, personal power is based on an individual’s charisma and personality traits.
Let’s know these powers in detail:
Legitimate Power
This type of power comes from having a formal position of authority, such as being a manager or a government official. Legitimate power can be effectively used in situations where clear boundaries need to be set and decisions need to be made instantly.
Reward Power
Reward power is the ability to give positive results, such as bonuses or promotions. To people who do what you want them to do. This type of power can be used effectively to motivate employees and encourage good behaviour.
Coercive Power
Coercive power involves the ability to punish people who do not obey your wishes or don’t complete the goal. Such as through negative consequences like demotions or terminations. While it can be effective in some cases, it should be used slightly to avoid creating a negative work environment.
Expert Power
Expert power comes from having a high level of knowledge or skill in a particular area. This type of power can be effectively used in situations where decision-making requires specialized knowledge, such as in the medical field.
Referent Power
Referent power comes from being well-liked or respected by others. This type of power can be effectively used in situations where collaboration and cooperation are important, such as in team-based projects.
Connection Power
Connection power comes from having a wide network of professional and personal contacts. This type of power can be effectively used in situations where access to resources and information is critical, such as in business or politics.
Information Power
Information power involves having access to important information that others do not. This type of power can be effectively used in situations where strategic decision-making requires insider knowledge, such as in competitive markets.
Coalition Power
Coalition power involves having the ability to influence others through a group or organization. This type of power can be effectively used in situations where collective action is necessary to achieve a common goal. For example, we can say that labour unions or political campaigns.
Resource Power
Resource power involves having control over valuable resources. Such as money or property and other resources which are important for business. This type of power can be effectively used in that situations where financial or material resources are crucial, such as in funding a research project or launching a new business on that case we use this power.
Personal Power
Personal power comes from an individual’s unique characteristics, such as charisma, confidence, or reputation. This type of power can be effectively used in cases where personal qualities are important, such as in public speaking or sales.