Team Leadership and Resolving Conflict

Leadership

Chapter 10 addresses power and influence in the workplace. Power is defined as "the capacity of a person, team, or organization to influence others," (p. 300). Understanding power is a key to understanding organizational behavior and culture. Power defines relationships between employees, and between those in managerial positions and their subordinates. There are five fundamental sources of power. Those include legitimate power, reward power, coercive power, expert power, and referent power. Legitimate power comes from official titles and job descriptions. Reward power refers to the ability of an individual's power to disperse bonuses and other incentives. Coercive power entails the use of punishment to control the behavior of others. Expert power depends on a person's background and expertise. Finally, referent power is the power that comes from personal charisma and the ability to bond with others. There are several contingencies of power: variables that mitigate, alter, or delimit power. These contingencies include substitutability, centrality, discretion, and visibility.

In any organization, a person's power depends on the possession of social capital. Social capital is the set of resources and skills that enables the creation and maintenance of a strong network. Having power has distinct consequences, for the individual and for the organization as a whole. Some of the consequences of having power are negative, whereas some are positive. Power may or may not be related to influence over others. Types of influence tactics include silent authority, assertiveness, information control, coalition formation, upward appeal, persuasion, ingratiation and impression management, and exchange. There are several consequences and contingencies of influence tactics, including resistance, compliance, and commitment. Power is a core component of organizational politics.

Chapter 11 is about conflict and negotiation in the workplace. Conflict is defined as "a process in which one party perceives that his or her interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party," (p. 328). Conflict is not necessarily a bad thing within an organization, as it can be used to leverage positive change. An emerging view on conflict is that constructive conflict can be healthy; whereas relationship conflict is generally detrimental to productivity. Constructive conflict occurs "when people focus their discussion on the issue while showing respect for people with other points-of-view," (p. 330). Relationship conflict focuses more on people than the issues, and refers to personality clashes. Three strategies that can be used to minimize personality conflict include promoting emotional intelligence, building a cohesive team, and supporting team norms.