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Power and LeadershipCluster 1: The basics
Perspectives on power in organizations – Anderson & Brion
Possessing power means stronger job security, beter nancial rewards and the ability to infuence
others. Lacking power means lacking autonomy, control, lower job satssacton and being susceptble to
unsair treatment.
Power: asymmetric control over valued resources; Power only exists in relaton to others, low-power
partes depend on high-power partes to obtain rewards and avoid punishment.
Influence: behaviors intended to obtain compliance with a request; power represents a source os
potental infuence that may or may not be realieed through compliance os others
Status: social-perceptual construct; power entails a structural positon in which they have control over
resources
Leadership: numerous tasks and responsibilites that are not part os the de niton os power, such as
planning and organieing, problem solving, motvatng others etc.
The acquisiton os power can be tested by assessing whether people are perceived as powersul by others
or whether they have atained positons os sormal authority. Assessing the consequences os power can
be done by: power priming, role power manipulaton and the personal sense os power scale.
Power is given to people because os their perceived superior individual characteristcs even is such a
percepton is inaccurate. They are oten perceived as being the most competent. Individual
characteristcs, such as task competence, social skills, general intelligence and personality traits, predict
leadership emergence.
Oten power is associated with negatve outcomes such as antsocial or immoral behavior, promotng
stereotyping, sel shness and aggression.
Power actvated the behavioral approach system, which leads to approach behaviors that pursue
rewards. This manisests in more positve afect. Lack os power actvated the behavioral inhibiton system,
leading to behavioral inhibiton and avoidance os threats.
Guinote’s situated focus theory: power afects motvaton, cogniton and behavior in ways that sacilitate
goal pursuit. Powersul theresore socus on goal-relevant aspects os a situaton.
Social distance theory of power: power’s cognitve and interpersonal efects can be accounted sor by
social distance; asymmetric control over resources leads the powersul to perceive greater distance srom
powerless than vice versa. This leads to decreases in empathic accuracy and assumed similarity.
The study socuses on power gain, power maintenance and power loss.
Power gain
There are three ways to gain power:
, 1. Obtain control over valued resources: develop relatonships with important people
2. Increase the value os the resources you already possess: transsorming an unproductve team into
a productve one
3. Enhance the impression in others’ eyes that you possess control over valued resources:
communicatng to the supervisor that you possess knowledge usesul sor the project
Perceived competence might be the most consistent predictor os rank within social groups. Task-related
abilites as well as social skills can be important competences, depending on what the group needs.
Also important is the structural positon, meaning the ability to access and control the insormaton that
enable the group to accomplish their goals. One’s network positon impacts this ability and theresore
also the ability to gain power.
Also demographics and morphology (physical characteristcss can impact gaining power. Age, sex and
race impact power gain (consistent with the status characteristcs theorys. en and certain demographic
groups are more oten ascribed power. But also height (being talls, weight (being strongs and some sacial
characteristcs have an impact. They contribute to the percepton os possessing higher competence; e.g.
is someone is older and male or stronger and taller.
Diferences in personality can also impact power gain:
- Motives: people vary in their desire or need sor power; this also varies across the lise span,
peaking in midlise. People who desire power are more proactve in their atempts to acquire it
and theresore more likely to get it.
- Traits: People with high extraversion, narcissism, trait dominance and sels-monitoring are more
likely to obtain power. These traits are associated with a strong desire sor power and stronger
social skills, e.g. the ability to read social networks. They are beter in communicaton and
persuasiveness. Dominant people are (salselys perceived as more competent, as they show more
signals os competence (volunteering answers etc.s
- Interpersonal style: Verbal, non-verbal and paraverbally (vocal tones communicaton style; less
smiling, more other touching, more gesturing, more interruptons and expansive body postures
signal the possession os valued resources and competence.
Power maintenance
Exogenous sactors:
- System justiifation: system just caton theory = the system just caton motve leads people to
desend and justsy the status quo, which includes the current hierarchical systems. This is
manisested by a desire to see hierarchies as legitmate. Even the powerless engage in
just caton believes and are more prone to justsying power diferences than the powersul.
Restricted behavioral consequences reduce the willingness os powerless to protest. Both partes
contribute to maintaining power.
- Atributions: Powersul are perceived more positvely than would be just ed by their behavior.
Stereotypes lead people to perceive powersul as being more competent. Halo efecttromance os
leadership: by virtue os their positon, power holders are oten perceived positvely.
,Endogenous sactors: Power impacts afect, cogniton and acton, which enables them to maintain the
power
- Affeft: Power-approach theory= powersul express more positve afect and subjectve well-being.
Power appears as a bufer against stress and higher tolerance os pain (e.g. lower heart rates
during stress, less stress hormoness. Power also decreases stress in social situatons, which may
improve task persormance. As they are oten perceived positvely by others, they have less sear
os negatve evaluatons. Those stress bufers help individuals to persorm beter.
- Cognition: Power improves cognitve persormance in goal setngtpursuit and executve
suncton. They tend to overlook constraints to goal pursuit; underestmatng physical siee os
others. As a consequence they have increased optmism and perceived con dence and control.
Powersul are more creatve which helps them in the long-term planning.
- Behavior: Powersul behave approach oriented, address annoyances in their environment
(moving a sans and seek proximity to threatening others. They engage in less consormity and
more oten violate norms. They are more resistant to others infuence and more persuasive.
They then to build homophilous coalitons and organieatons, which are sels-reinsorcing.
Power loss
Exogenous sactors:
- Competition: Powerless may compete sor resources by withholding important insormaton or by
actvely engaging in sabotage. Powersul are under greater scrutny, receiving greater social
atenton. Even though they receive undue credit sor positve outcomes, they also are unsairly
blamed sor sailures truly atributed to exogenous sactors.
- Intragroup fharafteristifs: Even-sieed groups experience less certainty and cohesion than odd-
sieed groups. ajority groups have less integratve complexity and power holders abuse their
power by engaging in in-group savoritsm and out-group hostlity may contribute to power
loss
- Individual fharafteristifs: Women and minorites are more likely to lose power. Female leaders
are perceived as having less interpersonal power than male leaders.
Endogenous sactors:
- Ethifs: power reduces sensitvity to social disapproval, which leads to unethical behavior and
reduced empathy (dehumanieatons and decreased sairness. When they seel incompetent or
have low status, they are likely to behave aggressively. Perceived sexual interest srom others
when it is not actually there contributes to sexual harassment in the workplace. Power holders
oten engage in sels-serving behavior.
- Defision-making biases: Power may bias decision making by socusing atenton on decision-
consistent insormaton and subjectve experiences. This leads to overcon dence and illusions os
control. They overestmate their own height and underestmate the tme sor a task. Excessive risk
taking and reluctance to accept usesul advice srom others lead to lower persormance and power
loss.
, - Interpersonal perfeption: Powersul disregard social comparison insormaton and rely on
stereotypes (implicit biass. Consequently, powersul surround themselves with homophilous and
fatering others, which contributes to inaccurate network percepton. Subordinated are less
sats ed with their leaders and leaders overestmate the extent to which others are allied with
them.
Those, who sail to serve their subordinate by engaging in sels-serving behavior are likely to step down.
The key task os power holders is to sacilitate social coordinaton and cooperaton to enhance group
success. Whether people do engage in sels-serving behavior depends on what drove them to acquire
power in the rst place. People, who gained power sor sels-serving reasons are more likely to engage in
antsocial behaviors. People high in dominance are more likely to jeopardiee group goals and are less
liked.
Power leads people to act in ways that are consistent with their internal traits. Collectvely oriented
people respond to power in socially responsible and not sels-interested ways. People with strong moral
identtes act in prosocial ways when given power. Power also increases interpersonal sensitvity sor
those with an empathic and not egoistc leadership style.
They way powersul perceive their power impacts the likelihood os engaging in sels-serving behavior.
Personal power (sreedom srom otherss increases stereotyping whereas social power (power over otherss
decreases stereotyping. Engaging in prosocial behavior depends on dispositonal sactors that impact the
motves sor gaining power.
Powersul oten engage in inefcient reactons to threats and changes in power by actng sels-interested,
abusive and risky. Stability, legitmacy and status may threaten power and increase sels-serving behavior:
- Stability: Unstable power holders experience more stress and take more risks. Stability in power
hierarchies tens to promote group-serving behavior. Instability lead power holder to engage in
inefcient responses.
- Legitmacy: Illegitmacy let power holders act antsocial. They rely on infuencing sollowers
through sorce rather than acquiescence. When power is seen as illegitmate it does not increase
social distance.
- Status: Low-status power holders are likely to engage in abusive behaviors towards powerless.
Those using dominance strategies are not liked. Powersul with low status are perceived as
dominant and cold and others expect to have negatve interactons with them.
Culture and sex can also have an impact on power.
Power, approach and inhibition – Keltner
Power is a basic sorce to social relatonships, dynamics and structure os personality. Power: individual’s
relatve capacity to modisy others’ states by providing or withholding resources or administering
punishments. Resources and punishments can be material and social. Distnguishing power srom related
constructs:
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