The Relationship between Power and Leadership - An Analysis

Understanding Power in Leadership

Discuss the relationship between power and leadership by answering the following questions in a minimum of 200 words:

• What power must a leader have to lead effectively? 
• How can a leader acquire that power? 
• What mechanisms can be put in place to prevent the leader from abusing his or her power? 
• Support your responses with an example of a leader in a specific situation, real or imagined, such as the leader of a project team, the head of the marketing department, the CEO of a company, etc.

Power is defined in our text as “the capacity to produce effects on others or the potential to influence others (Hughes, Ginnet, & Curphy, 2019, Chapter 4).” Last week we talked about the qualities a leader must have, including the ability to innovate, develop and inspire. It makes sense that these qualities come from the power the leader has. Leaders must have some sort of power to do their jobs. They need to make things happen, to reach the goals of the organization and to make the decision necessary to advance the betterment of the organization. But what kind of power is most important?

In a report done by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) they report that leaders believe the top three sources of power are the power of relationships, the power to reward and the power of information. These powers allow them to build trust and relationships with followers and bring them together to achieve common goals.

Power can be derived in different ways, it can be given by way of title or position. It can be earned as an expert in a particular area. It can also be placed upon someone because their followers admire and respect them. 

To be an effective leader one must use their power effectively without misusing it.

For instance, a leader must be careful to use their power for the good of the organization without advancing their own agenda. Bottom of Form

Power is defined in our text as “the capacity to produce effects on others or the potential to influence others (Hughes, Ginnet, & Curphy, 2019, Chapter 4).” Last week we talked about the qualities a leader must have, including the ability to innovate, develop and inspire. It makes sense that these qualities come from the power the leader has. Leaders must have some sort of power to do their jobs. They need to make things happen, to reach the goals of the organization and to make the decision necessary to advance the betterment of the organization. But what kind of power is most important?

In a report done by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) they report that leaders believe the top three sources of power are the power of relationships, the power to reward and the power of information. These powers allow them to build trust and relationships with followers and bring them together to achieve common goals.

Power can be derived in different ways, it can be given by way of title or position. It can be earned as an expert in a particular area. It can also be placed upon someone because their followers admire and respect them. 

To be an effective leader one must use their power effectively without misusing it.

For instance, a leader must be careful to use their power for the good of the organization without advancing their own agenda. 

I work for an organization that I think has an excellent leader. Our CEO shows every day that he is committed to the mission and values of the organization. Times are tough in healthcare at the moment and he is incredibly transparent and thoughtful about how he goes about the business of both fulfilling his commitments to the stakeholders and ensuring patients and employees are taken care of. In a very difficult financial time, where our hospital system saw budget numbers in excess of $50M in the red, he had to make the tough decision to make some workforce reductions. Because he leads by example, he and his entire c-suite team froze their salaries for the next 2 years, even though all other employees will continue the normal merit increases.