Week 5 Flashcards
Power
- the capacity to influence the behaviour of B, so that B acts in accordance with A
Power and dependency
- the more that B depends on A, the more power A has over B
- B’s dependency is inversely proportional to the alternative sources that A has
Scarcity
- if what you have is plentiful or rare
Importance
- whether or not anyone wants what you have
Nonsubstitutability
- if what you have can be substituted or not
What creates dependency?
- scarcity
- importance
- nonsubstitutuability
What are the bases of power?
- coercive power
- reward power
- legitimate power
- expert power
- referent power
- information power
coercive power
- fear based
- “Do it or else I’ll make you suffer!”
reward power
- gainful based
- “Do it and I’ll pay you”
legitimate power
- position/hierarchy based
- do it because i’m your boss and I said so
expert power
- knowledge based
- “do it this way because I know what i’m talking about”
referent power
- attachment based
- “do it for me old sport”
information power
- access-based
- “do it and i’ll let you in on a secret”
responses to the basis of power
- commitment
- compliance
- resistance
commitment
- enthusiastic about the request and show initiative and persistence in carrying it out
compliance
- go along with the request grudgingly, put in minimal effort, and take initiative in carrying out requests
resistance
- oppose the request and try to avoid it with such tactics such as refusing, stalling, or arguing about it.
political behaviour
- activities that are outside one’s formal role (i.e. not part of one’s specific job duties) that influence, or try to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization
Why is workplace politics a reality?
- diversity of values, goals, and interests
- limited resources
- “facts” used for decisions around distributing resources are open to interpretation
- “facts” are rarely objective
social astuteness
- accurately interpret their and others’ behaviour
political skill
- the ability to effectively understand others at work, and to use such knowledge to influence others to act in ways that enhance one’s personal and /or organizational objectives
interpersonal influence
- adapt and calibrate behaviour to situation
networking ability
- identify and develop large and diverse networks
apparent sincerity
- appear to have high levels of integrity
sources of attaining personal power
- expertise
- personal attraction
- effort
- legitimacy
expertise
- work related knowledge; comes from education, self-directed learning, and experience
- can be extremely effective but can also leave quickly
personal attractiveness
- based on: charisma, agreeable behaviour, physical characteristics
effort
- a desirable quality in employees
- is viewed as a sign of commitment and dedication
legitimacy
- different from legitimate power
- taking action in line with the prevailing issues
sources of attaining positional power
- centrality
- flexibility
- visibility
- relevance
centrality
- access to information in a communication network
- power is accrued via horizontal and vertical relationships of one’s location in the network
flexibility
- freedom to exercise judgement
- flexibility is determined by: work assignments, life cycle of the position, and reward structure
visibility
- interacting with influential people int he organization such as senior officials, decision makers, and informal leaders
- main issue with telework
relevance
- working on the central objectives/issues in an organization
- relevancy is impacted by the employee’s department and activities they perform
7 principles of influence tactics (Cialdini)
- authority
- liking
- reciprocity
- consistency
- social proof
- scarcity
- unity
authority (Cialdini)
- demonstrating your experience and trustworthiness on the topic at hand
- don’t just claim authority; use examples or metrics to demonstrate it
- whenever possible, have your colleagues introduce your qualifications, and do the same for them
liking (Cialdini)
- help people get to lie you by sharing genuine commonalities
- the similarities don’t have to be substantial - hometowns, hobbies, pets, and sports teams are just as effective
- the goal is to make people feel a positive genuine connection to you
reciprocity (Cialdini)
- creating a sense of obligation to respond in kindness
- works best when the gift is early, unexpected, and is personalized
- doesn’t have to be a physical gift - free service, google review of their business, connections,etc
consistency (Cialdini)
- encourage actions that set precedents for larger future actions
- get them to take small actions that they will later reflect or live up to (e.g. filling out an appointment card)
- get them invested in a future action, such as by submitting questions for a meeting
consensus/social proof (Cialdini)
- encourage them to follow people who have what you want them to do
- collect statistics, testimonials, images, or videos to show them how many people are already doing it
- find stats or examples that are as similar to them as possible - a moderate but extremely specific example is better than a glowing, general one.
scarcity (Cialdini)
- creating a sense of urgency around actions you want people to take
- focus on what is genuinely rare and unique
- remember that you can frame scarcity as loss aversion
unity (Cialdini)
- creating a shared identity that both you and the people you are influencing are trying to be a part of
- deeper than surface level similarities
- the more people feel like they are a part of “us”, the more likely they are to be influenced by them.
Key takeaways about power
- accept that getting things done requires power
- seek to understand the varying interests in your organization and who holds them (i.e. nework)
- avoid assuming people are wrong, less informed, or stupid if they disagree or have a different perspective on issues
- identify sources of power and how these sources can be developed
- hone your strategies and tactics for gaining power
