Power and influence are important concepts in leadership and management because they are intertwined. In essence, it's impossible for a leader to influence his/her followers without power, which is crucial in getting things done and accomplishing specified goals. The close link between these two concepts is also evident in the fact that power can be defined as the capability to influence others (Lunenburg, p.1). As a result, the effective use of power is an important component in leadership, especially with regards to management. Leaders have significant influence over others when they develop a strong power base in their respective area such as organizations, institutions, and the political arena. The ability of a leader to influence his followers or employees to accomplish certain goals and tasks is dependent on the strength of his power base. Without power (which is the capability to influence people), leaders are unable to persuade their followers to accomplish desired goals and tasks.
In light of these factors, power and influence are inseparable in the context of leadership and management. When a leader exercises inadequate power or lack power, he/she becomes ineffective because of failure to influence his/her followers towards achieving desired objectives. On the contrary, when a leader exercises sufficient power, he/she empowers his/her followers to accomplish tasks because sufficient power contributes to empowerment of followers. However, excessive use of power by a leader is also ineffective because it demoralizes people to an extent that it is considered as abuse of power (Whetten & Cameron, p.286).
Even though power is the pre-requisite for influence, not every powerful individual has influence since influence requires obtaining approval of others in order to achieve an objective. There are three major strategies that a leader can utilize to influence others towards certain goals i.e. retribution, reason, and reciprocity. Reason and reciprocity are the most effective strategies since they entail presenting persuasive facts or needs and bargaining respectively. On the contrary, retribution is not the most effective strategy because it entails intimidation and coercion which threaten or exerts pressure on people (Whetten & Cameron, p.298). The effectiveness of reason and reciprocity in influencing others demonstrate the significance of communication in appealing to individual values or ingratiation when exercising leadership.
Power is the pre-requisite for influence but it's highly unlikely for a leader to have influence over others without good supportive communication skills. Good communication skills confer influence on a person by providing...
Conflict Management in the Workplace Conflicts have become increasingly inevitable in the contemporary working environment because of the diverse nature of the workforce. Actually, the modern workplace is a hub of diverse cultures largely because of globalization. Globalization has contributed to workplace diversity through facilitating increased migration of people who are looking for better market opportunities, personal development, and new challenges (Prause & Mujtaba, 2015, p.13). These changes have generated numerous
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