L3: Power and Influence Flashcards
what are sources of power?
where does a leader’s influence come from?
what are influence tactics?
behaviour that is used intentionally to influence the attitudes & behaviour of another person
define power
assymetric control over valued resources in social relations
aka the capacity of one party (the agent) to influence another party (the target)
where does power come from?
- position power (like wearing a uniform, ppl respect ur authority cause of the role youre playing)
- personal power(is like being someone others naturally look up to, no uniform required)
what are 11 proactive influence tactics?
- Rational persuasion (logic/facts)
- Inspirational appeals (values/emotion)
- Consultation (asking for input)
- Collaboration (offering help)
- Apprising (showing personal benefits)
- Ingratiation (praise/flattery)
- Exchange (give to get)
- Personal appeals (pulling on loyalty)
- Legitimating (invoking rules or authority)
- Pressure (threats, persistent demands)
- Coalition tactics (ganging up, involving others)
what proactive influence tacitcs work best for commitment?
- rational persuasion
- consultation
- collaboration
- inspirational appeals
- apprising
what are the least effective proactive influence tactis?
- pressure
- legitimating
- coalition tacitcs
especially if overused or perceived as manipulative
how does context influence the effectiveness of proactive influence tacitc?
Tactic effectiveness depends on the relationship, target’s values, timing, trust, and ethical application.
Combining tactics strategically boosts success—if done skillfully.
what is position power/where does it come from?
influence derived from legitimate authority:
- make important decisions
- control over the use of resources and access to info
- control over the use of rewards & punishment
what is personal power/where does it come from?
influence dervied from
- agent expertise (knowledge, skills etc)
- relationships/friendship w the target person
what are the subtypes of position power?
- legitimate power
- reward power
- coercive (using force/threats) power
- info power
what is legitimate position power?
based on formal authority, and it involves the power derived from rights, obligations, and duties associated w a particular position in an organisation
what is reward position power?
power perception by the target person that an agent can provide important resources and rewards that are desired by the target person
what is coercive position power?
authority over punishment, based on using force/threats
what is information position power?
power based on access to vital info & control over its distribution to others
what are the subtypes of personal power?
- referent power
- expert power
what is referent personal power?
power derived from a target person’s strong feelings of affection, admiration, and loyalty toward the agent
what is expert personal power?
power derived from task relevant knowledge & skills but others need to be dependent on that type of expertise
what are the 2 theories on how ppl gain or lose power?
- social exchange theory
- strategic contingency theory
how does social exchange theory explain how ppl gain / lose power?
power is earned, not given
- idea: power & influnece dont come just from position, it comes from earning trust and credibility over time by providing value (like support, loyalty, competence)
- idiosyncrasy credit: “do it ur own way credit”: leaders build up “credits” or goodwill by contributing positively (being competent, fair, respectful) -> these credits allow leader to later deviate from norms or make tough calls w/o losing support
- if a leader stops giving value or misuses their influence, followers may withdraw their support and power fades
how does strategic contingency theory explain how ppl gain / lose power?
power depends on who can solve strategic issues?
- idea: power in organisations goes to the departments (subunits) that can solve the most important & uncertain porblems that others cant
- 3 factors influencing power:
- expertise in coping w important problems
- centrality of the subunit within the workflow
- the subunit’s expertise is unique rather than substitutable
what are the 3 broad categories of influence tactics?
- impression management (aka the host)
- proactive tactics (aka the chef)
- political tactics (aka the networker)
what is the impression management influence tactic?
tactics intended to influence ppl to like the agent (provide praise, act friendly, offer assistance)
what is the proactive influence tactic?
tactics that have an immediate task objective, getting the target person to carry out a new task, changed procedure, provide assistance on a project
what is the political influence tactics?
tactics used to influence organisational decisions or gain benefit for an individual or group eg influencing the agenda for meetings to include ur issues
what is participative leadership?
- power is shared
- many of the activities of managers involve making & implementing decisions
- involving others in making important decisions
- involves consultation, joint decision making & delegation
how much influence do followers get in participative leadership?
4 decision procedures
- autocratic decisions: manager makes decision alone w/o asking for the opinion or suggestsions of others, theres no participation
- consultation: managers asks other ppl for their opinions and ideas then makes the decision alone after considering their suggestions & concerns
- joint decision: manager meets w other to discuss the decision problem & make a decision together; the manager has no more influence than any other participant
- delegation: manager gives others the authority & responsiility for making a decision, often within limits
what are the benefits of higher participation?
- higher decision quality when ppl conftribute w their info & knowledge knowledge by leader
- acceptance: if ppl have influence in decision making process, they identify more & better understand choice
- satisfaction: when ppl can express their opinions “voice” & these are taken seriously, theyre more likely to be satisfied w the process
- skill development: helping to make a complex decision, increases skill & confidence
what are the explanatory processes for why theres so many benefits to participative leadership?
- better understanding of the problem
- integrative problem solving
- identification w solution
- feelings of procedural justice
what does the causal model of participative leadership explain?
how & when participative leadership works and what factors influence its effectiveness
what contextual factors influence the effectiveness of participative leadership?
- importance of decision
- distribution of knowledge
- goal congruence
- time pressure
- member traits & values
what is the normative decision model?
a framework to help leaders decide how much involvement their team should have in making decisions based on decision quality needed, importance of acceptance, time constraints, and group expertise & cohesion
5 decision making styles ranging from
- autocratic (a1, a2): leader decides alone a1, maybe after gathering info a2
- consultative (c1, c2): leader consults individuals c1, or group c2, but decides alone
- group based (g2): leader & team make decision together
what are the moderators in the relationship between decision procedure & decision quality/acceptance (normative decision model)?
- decision importance: how criticial is the quality of the decision for success
- info distribution: does leader enough info or is info spread across team?
- subordinate attitudes: are followers cooperative?
- dependence on subordinates: is successful implementation dependent on the teams effort & cooperation?
what explains (mediates) the relationship between decision procedure & team performance?
normative decision model
- decision quality: best alternative is selected
- decision acceptance: commitment to implement decision
what is empowering leadership?
leadership style where leaders actively encourage, support, and facilitate the dev of their team members. invovles a leaders behaviours, actions, and approach to leadership that promote autonomy, trust, and self efficacy among employees
what is empowerement?
outcome that comes from giving individuals the power, confidence, and resources to take control over their work & decisions
how can u promote empowerement?
- participative leadership (“what do u think”)
- supporting personal growth, expressing confidence in high performance (“you got this”)
- by providing all relevant info (“heres all u need”)
- by givign autonomy & removing controls (“ti trust u can do this, see u next week”)
- through formal empowerement programs (eg leader election rather than appointment)
what is the hidden dark side of empowering leadership?
when hindrance stressors are high, empowering employees may lead them to justify unethical actions (= moral disengagement), resulting in unethical pro org behaviour (UPB) - actions intended to benefit the org but that are ethically questionable
define moral disengagement
when ppl convince themselves that unethical behaviour is okay, so they can act wrongly without feeling guilty (“ its okay to spread rumours to defend those you care about”)
define hindrance stressors
the kind of stressors at work that feel pointless, frustrating or like they’re holding you back, they dont help you grow, they just make things harder (eg administrative hassles, conflicting requests, unclear job tasks etc)
how was the dark/unethical side of empowering leadership studied?
- questionnaire filled in at 3 times by ppl who had a direct supervisor
- 1st time: empowering leadership
- 2nd time: hindrance stressors & moral disengagement
- 3rd time: unethical decision making
- results: moderating effect of hindrance stressors on the relationship between empowering leadership & oral disengagement:
- for ppl w low hindrance stress: when leadership is empowering, moral disengagement goes down aka ppl feel more responsible & ethical
- for ppl w high hindrance stress: when leadership is empowering, moral disengagement goes up: maybe they feel overwhelmed/depleted etc
define abusive supervision
- when employees perceive their supervisor as consistenly hostile (verbal or nonverbal) w/o physical violence (ex: public ridicule, blame shifting, etc)
- since its about perception, not objective reality (so context, personal bias, and sensitivity all play a role)
what are the consequences of abusive supervision?
- leads to low morale, mental health issues, job dissatisfaction, higher turnover
- boosts counterproductive behaviours like sabotage, absenteeism
- rare evidence that its “motivating”
- some ppl handle it better than others (depends on job alternatives, emotional strength, and support systems)
what are some issues in research on abusive supervision?
- most data comes from surveys as experiments have low realism (so need more realistic lab setups or objective data)
- researchers focused more on consequences than causes
- need for better coping research (what works, what doesnt)
- want to know if abuse ever leads to higher performance
- how does abuse interact w other leadership styles
what are 3 theories that explain why abusive supervision occurs?
- social learning theory
- identity threat
- self regulation failure
how does social learning theory explain abusive supervision?
- leaders copy behaviour they see from their own bosses or parents
- abusive environments normalize abusive behaviour
how does identity threat explain abusive supervision?
supervisors may lash out when they feel insecure, challenged, or threatened, especially by high performing or rebellious subordinates
how does self regulation failure explain abusive supervision?
- burned out, emotionally drained supervisors lose impulse control and lash out
- factors like ego depletion, lack of sleep, or stress increase the risk
how does context matter in abusive supervision?
- culture plays a role: in high power distance countries abusive behaviour may be more accepted or normalized
- abuse looks different depening on team dynamics, performance levels, and org norms
what is decision making like in real life?
- messy, political, emotional (so not all rational!)
- done informally, adapting as things change
- routine deicison (like scheduling) differ greatly from strategic ones (like restructuring)
what is participative leadership?
involving others in decisions that affect them
what are the benefits of participative leadership?
- improves decision quality (more brains = better solutions)
- boosts acceptance & motivation
- encourages innovation & teamwork
what are things to watch out for in participative leadership?
- doesnt work if theres low trust, conflicting goals, or no time
- requires serious conflict management & faciliation skills from leaders
define delegation?
assigning responsibility & authority to others
what are the benefits of delegation
- grows ur people
- frees up your time
- improves motivation & job satisfaction
- builds future leaders
what are the barriers to delegating?
- leaders often hold back due to trust issues, control freak tendencies, or ego
- effective delegation means choosing the right tasks & coaching, not just offloading
define psych empowerement
the feeling ppl have when they believe they
- have autonomy
- do meaningful work
- can make an impact
how can leaders boost psych empowerement?
- sharing power
- providing support & recognition
- involving people in meaningful decisions
what are empowerement programs?
Organizational tools that include:
- Shared decision-making structures.
- Transparent info sharing.
- Opportunities to influence leadership and outcomes.
Note: Empowerment only works if conditions are right (e.g., skilled staff, open culture, supportive management). Otherwise, it just causes confusion and resentment.
