MB661 Leadership and Motivation. Five Types of Leader Power

Activity 3: Leader Personality and Power
Name
Institution
Activity 3: Leader Personality and Power
Part A: Five Types of Leader Power
Leadership and power often go hand in hand. As such, it is imperative to examine the various types of leader power and explore their impact on followers.
* Definitions
In general, power can be defined as the ability to influence others to act in a particular way. There are five different types of leader power. The first type of power is referred to as legitimate power. This is the power that has been acquired from a person’s right to influence others because they hold a formal position (Sousa & van Dierendonck, 2015). For instance, a manager possesses legitimate power mainly because of their job title as a manager. Followers will receive orders and do as instructed because the organization has bestowed the manager the power to influence. The second type of power is referred to as coercive power. This power is derived from a person’s ability to punish or penalize others if they fail to follow orders (Sousa & van Dierendonck, 2015). Thus, a person holding such power can influence others by threatening to punish them. The threat can be in terms of job termination, suspension and other negative actions against a follower. The third type of power is known as referent power. This power comes from the respect and great admiration accorded to a person by others (Sousa & van Dierendonck, 2015). Leaders acquire this power when they lead by example such that followers can identify with their leader. The fourth type of power is referred to as reward power. It is derived from a person’s ability to compensate followers for good deeds (Sousa & van Dierendonck, 2015). The compensation can be in terms of a promotion, salary increment, and other non-monetary rewards such as flexible working hours. Such incentives allow the person to influence others. The fifth type of power is known as expert power. It is derived from a person’s possession of skills, knowledge, and abilities in a specific field (Sousa & van Dierendonck, 2015). Thus the person can influence others because they are perceived to be more knowledgeable or skilled in the field than everyone else. For instance, an IT expert has expert power because they can influence even the CEO on matters concerning IT.
* Impact of leader power on followers
Each of the above-mentioned power influences followers differently. Leaders who use legitimate power have been granted the power because they hold a certain position within the organization and as such, they can demand whatever is expected by the organization from the employees (Tang, 2019). This helps in maintaining the organizational structure and hierarchy. However, the level of employee motivation when legitimate power is used is low because employees tend to comply rather than cooperate with their leaders. Legitimate power can lose its effectiveness if employees feel the position was not earned. Thus, legitimate power can lead to resistance, especially in the absence of a strong internal structure. Leaders who use coercive power tend to instill negative emotions in their followers (Tang, 2019). Besides, followers and leaders using coercive power w...