MANAGERIAL SKILLS
AND STRATEGIC
LEADERSHIP
Prepared by Assist. Prof. Dr. Vildan Esenyel
CHAPTER 5
Gaining Power and Influence
Learning Objectives
5.1 Enhance personal and positional power
5.2 Use influence appropriately to accomplish exceptional
work
5.3 Neutralize inappropriate influence attempts
What Is Power?
Power is the capacity to influence
behavior
◦ Effective use of power and politics is
a critical managerial skill
◦ A manager’s power comes from
helping others accomplish their tasks
◦ This usually requires political clout
Odes to Power (1 of 2)
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely.
– Lord Acton
Power has only one duty—to secure the social welfare of
the People.
– Benjamin Disraeli
Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
– Mao Tse-Tung
Odes to Power (2 of 2)
I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that
the less we use our power the greater it will be.
– Thomas Jefferson
Power? It’s like a Dead Sea fruit. When you achieve it, there is
nothing there.
– Harold MacMillan
Power is given only to those who dare to lower themselves and
pick it up.
– Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Power is the great aphrodisiac.
– Henry Kissinger
A Positive View of Power
◦ Power can lead to great good
◦ It is the means through which
managers accomplish work
◦ It is the lack of power that can lead to
unhappiness
Abuse of Power
Table 5.1 Characteristics That Derail Managers’
Careers
◦ Lack of sensitivity to others; abrasive and
intimidating
◦ Acting cold, aloof, and arrogant
◦ Untrustworthiness
◦ Being overly ambitious; playing politics and always
trying to move up
◦ Inability to delegate to others or to build a team
◦ Overdependency on others (e.g., a mentor)
A Four-Letter Word Now?
“Power has such a bad name that many good people persuade themselves
they want nothing to do with it. … To say a leader is preoccupied with power
is like saying that a tennis player is preoccupied with making shots her
opponent cannot return.”
– J.W. Gardner
Is Power a Four-Letter Word?
Table 5.2 Indicators of a Manager’s Upward and Outward Power
Powerful managers can:
• Intercede favorably on behalf of someone in trouble.
• Get a desirable placement for a talented subordinate.
• Get approval for expenditures beyond the budget.
• Get items on and off the agenda at policy meetings.
• Get fast access to top decision makers.
• Maintain regular, frequent contact with top decision makers.
• Acquire early information about decisions and policy shifts.
Personal Power: Stepping Stone or
Stumbling Block
Figure 5.1 Personal Power: Stepping Stone or Stumbling Block
POWER vs AUTHORITY
◦ Power refers to the ability or potential for an individual
to influence others and control their behavior.
◦ Authority refers to the legal and formal right to give
commands and make decisions
Sources of Personal Power
◦ Expertise
◦ Personal
Attraction
◦ Effort
◦ Legitimacy
Expertise
◦ Work-related
knowledge; comes
from education, self-
directed learning, and
on-the-job
experience
Personal Attraction
◦ Based on
charisma,
agreeable
behavior, and
physical
characteristics
Characteristics of Likable
People
We like people when we have a reason to
believe they will:
◦ Support an open, honest, and loyal
relationship.
◦ Foster intimacy by being emotionally
accessible.
◦ Provide unconditional, positive regard, and
acceptance.
◦ Endure some sacrifices if the relationship
should demand them.
◦ Provide social reinforcement in the form of
sympathy or empathy.
◦ Engage in the social exchanges necessary to
sustain a relationship.
Effort
◦ A desirable quality in
employees
◦ Can be related to expertise
◦ Is viewed as a sign of
commitment and dedication
Legitimacy
◦ Taking action
congruent with the
prevailing value
system; focuses on
the “hows” and “whys”
of doing business the
right way
If you are the only one in the office who
understands how to do a PowerPoint
presentation, which base of power do you most
likely have?
Sources of Position Power
◦ Centrality
◦ Flexibility
◦ Visibility
◦ Relevance
Centrality
◦ Access to information in a
communication network
◦ The most effective networks
are those that have
structural holes—
circumstances where two
people in your network are not
connected to each other.
When structure holes are present, what is the best configuration of
your network to ensure maximum power for yourself?
A) You are at the center of a very decentralized network.
B) Your connections are also connected to each other to ensure the free flow of
information.
C) You build connections with people who share the same information base as
yourself.
D) Your connections are not connected to each other, so that you bridge gaps between
people.
Flexibility
◦ Freedom to exercise
judgment; flexibility is
determined by the life cycle of
the position, the reward
structure, and proactive
personality
◦ Proactive personality—a
tendency to effect change
in one’s environment
Visibility
◦ Interacting with
influential people in the
organization such as
senior officials, decision
makers, and informal
leaders
Relevance
◦ Working on the central
objectives and issues in an
organization
◦ Relevance is impacted by
the employee’s department
and the activities they
perform.
Going to lunch with other departments can increase
your centrality power.
TRUE or FALSE
Transforming Power into
Influence
◦ Power is a necessary precondition of influence.
◦ Influential people have power, but not all powerful people have influence.
The Three R s Model
1. Retribution: Force others to do what you say
(coercion and intimidation).
2. Reciprocity: Help others want to do what you say
(bargaining and ingratiation).
3. Reason: Show others that it makes sense to do what
you say (facts and appeal to values).
Your supervisor remarks, "If you do not complete the project by 5:00 P.M.
on Friday, you will not be able to go on vacation next week." This is an
example of the retribution influence strategy.
TRUE or FALSE
When to Use Retribution
◦ Unequal power (in influencer’s favor)
◦ Commitment and quality not important
◦ Tight time constraints
◦ Serious violations
◦ Specific, unambiguous requests
◦ Resistance to request is likely
When to Use Reciprocity
◦ Parties are mutually dependent
◦ Each party has valued resources
◦ Adequate time for negotiating
◦ Established exchange norms exist
◦ Commitment to goals not critical
◦ Needs are specific and short-term
When to Use Reason
◦ Adequate time for extensive discussion
◦ Common goals
◦ Parties share mutual respect
◦ Parties share ongoing relationship
You have a desire to move up in the company. You
have been offered two positions. One position is more
people oriented and the other position is more task
oriented. Which position should you take?
Exercising Upward Influence or
Managing the "Boss"
◦ Issue Selling:
Convincing your
boss that a
particular issue is so
important that it
requires his or her
attention.
Neutralizing Retribution
Strategies
◦ Use countervailing power to
shift dependence to
interdependence
◦ Confront the exploiting
individual directly
◦ Actively resist
Neutralizing Reciprocity
Strategies
◦ Examine the intent of any gift or favor-giving activity
◦ Confront individuals who are using manipulative
bargaining tactics
◦ Refuse to bargain with individuals who use high-pressure
tactics
Neutralizing Reason Strategies
◦ Explain the adverse effects of compliance on
performance
◦ Defend your personal rights
◦ Firmly refuse to comply with the request
Model of Influence and Power (1 of 2)
Figure 5.2 Model of Power and Influence
“Far better to conceive of power as consisting in part of the
knowledge of when not to use all the power you have …
Whoever knows how to restrain and effectively release
power finds … that power flows back to him.”
– A. Bartlett Giamatti
Behavioral Guidelines (1 of 2)
◦ Enhance personal power by improving your expertise,
personal attraction, effort, and legitimacy.
◦ Increase position power by improving your centrality,
flexibility, visibility, and relevance.
Behavioral Guidelines (2 of 2)
◦ Use reason, reciprocity, and retribution strategies
appropriately and, when necessary, neutralize their use
upon you.
◦ Learn to sell issues to your superiors.
CLASSWORK
Think of a proposal to convert 9-to-5 office hours to flexible working hours to be
proposed
to the board of directors.
Applying upward influence, plan your strategies. Make a five-minute oral
presentation to convince the board of directors.
At the end of the presentation, the board will decide if they approve of the
proposal.
Discuss the effectiveness of the methods used.
Which of the following characteristics is not an important source of
personal power?
A) Flexibility
B) Effort
C) Interpersonal attraction
D) Expertise
E) Legitimacy
ASSIGNMENT FOR JOURNAL
◦ Keep a journal for at least the remainder of this course. Record
significant discoveries, insights, learnings, and personal
recollections—not daily activities.
Write in your journal at least twice a week. Give yourself some
feedback.
◦ Case «Dynica Software Solutions» (answer question on page
275)
◦ ACTIVITIES ACTIVITIES FOR GAINING POWER AND INFLUENCE (page 281) 5.4-5.5-5.6-5.7
◦ Application Plan and Evaluation (page 282 )