“Influence
is the essence of Leadership.” (Yukl, 2013)
Managers get someone to do something because of their power, their rank, and
their position. Leaders get someone to do something because they want to do it.
To reflect upon this chapter I’m going to talk about power and influence and
how these two have played a role in my workplace and my life.
Power
and influence aren’t synonymous so it is important to define them separately.
The way Yukl defines power is that it’s the “absolute capacity of an individual
agent to influence the behavior or attitudes of one or more designated target
persons at a given point in time.” (Yukl, 2013)
“Absolute” is a key word because it shows that the agent has full authority
over the target and that the target really has no choice but to listen. Influence
on the other hand Yukl defines as the “[involvement of] motives and perceptions
of the target person in relation to the actions of the agent and the context in
which the interaction occurs.” (Yukl, 2013)
What this means is that while an agent might not have any real authority over
the target, the target might still do something because they benefit in some
way. A personal example for each follows.
Both
power and influence play roles in my work life and personal. I have what’s
referred to as Expert Power which is where “task-relevant knowledge and skill
are a major source of personal power in an organization.” (Yukl, 2013)
For example at work when I bring a new guy onto a job, I exercise “Expert
Power” because I am the leading expert for the job and the target essentially
depends upon me to get the job done. Influence in the form of personal appeals
plays a huge role in my life in the sense that it “involves asking someone to
do a favor based on friendship or loyalty.” (Yukl, 2013)
For example I asked one of my work buddies to pick up the keys to my flat to
give to a friend. I have no power over this person, but he still helped me out
as a favor based on our friendship. These are just two simple examples on how
power and influence play in my life.
To
reflect, I’ve defined both power and influence and how the two words play a
role in my life. Managers get people to do things because of their power;
leaders get people to do things because of their influence. Everyone can be
said to exercise power and influence in some fashion and being able to
recognize the difference is key to becoming a good leader.
References
Yukl, G. (2013). Leadership in Organizations.
New Jersey: Pearson.
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