“You cannot be successful in our group without

building power and being able to influence

customers and associates, whether or not you have
any direct authority. Without power and influence,
managers are not much use to anyone around here.”
— Scott Pickering, Vice President of Sales, Urogyn
Medical, Inc

POWER
AND
INFLUENC
E IN
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
LO 1. Differentiate the concepts of power,
influence, and authority.
LO 2. Describe the five bases of power.
LO 3. Discuss the role norms and conformity
play in individual and group behavior.
LO 4. Describe the effectiveness of various
forms of influence tactics.
LO 5. Contrast the positive and negative
influences of politics in organizational
behavior.
LO6. Apply methods for influencing a direct
supervisor.
POWER: THE
CAPACITY TO
INFLUENCE
POWER: is the capacity to exert influence to
control others or events, as well as the capacity to
defend against the influence of others.
The word capacity in this definition suggests that
individual power can be developed, regardless of a
person’s title or level within an organization.

Authority is the type of power a person possesses

due to his position.

INFLUENCE: Is the of power. Influence is power

in action, and influence tactics serve as the means
by which individuals gain and exercise power.
 REWARD
FRENCH
AND LEGITIMATE
RAVEN’S REFERENT
POWER
BASES EXPERT
COERCIVE
POWER BASES
 1. Reward Power: Based on the
ability to provide rewards.
 2. Legitimate Power: Derived from
a formal position or role.
 3. Referent Power: Based on
personal characteristics and
relationships.
 4. Expert Power: Based on
specialized knowledge or skills.
 5. Coercive Power: Based on the
ability to impose penalties or
sanctions.
 NORMS: implicit or
explicit codes
describing what
NORMS constitutes acceptable
TYPES behavior.
&
OF
CONFORMITY CONFORMITY: is
POWER the act of changing
your behavior to match
the responses or
behavior of other.
CHALLENGE 1 –
THE NEW PERSPECTIVE
You have recently joined a dynamic team at a prestigious company known for its
innovative approach to industry challenges. As the newest member of the team,
you find yourself surrounded by colleagues who each have three years of
experience in the field. During a team meeting, the manager introduces you to
the group and highlights your unique background and fresh perspective as
valuable additions to the team.
As the meeting progresses, the team engages in a discussion about a complex
project that requires creative problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking. Your
manager turns to you and asks for your input on how you would approach the
challenge given your unique perspective and expertise.
Question:
1. What should you do to establish yourself as a valuable member of the team
despite being the newest employee with less experience?
2. What should you do to build strong relationships with your more
experienced colleagues and gain their trust and respect in the workplace?
DEPENDENCE AND
Power is NETWORKS
relational; that is, power exists

only where there are at least two people,
and it is property of the relationship
between them.

 DEPENDENCE – leads people to do things they may

not otherwise do.
 NETWORK - refers to the interconnected
relationships and connections that individuals or
entities establish with others to access resources, share
information, and leverage influence. It represents a web
of social connections, both formal and informal,
through which individuals navigate to gain power, build
credibility, and affect decisions within organizations or
society. (Networks, Power and Influence by Mairi MacLean, Charles Harvey
and Jon Press.)
DEPENDENCE AND NETWORKS
 RELATIONAL DEPENDENCE –
is also a useful starting point for
determining the influence tactics
that can help you build broad
networks and influence others to get
things done. To be effective in your
use of power and influence, you
should understand the patterns of
dependence in an organization;
these patterns can also help you
understand and navigate the
organization’s political landscape.
DEPENDENCE AND NETWORKS
What Are Strong Ties And Weak Ties?
 Strong ties are relationships with your friends or family,
team members or even classmates if you’re a student. It’s
made up of close links to people you trust, spend time with
and rely on. Everyone has some strong ties and this is our
support group.
 The meaning of weak ties is the relationship you have with
acquaintances or colleagues you don’t work closely with. It
may even be people in your network with whom you don’t
communicate on a regular basis.
 Today, professionals advocate the importance of building a
robust network with a mix of strong and weak ties. This is
because you may need someone who’s not in your immediate
circle to help you out with a project, during a crisis situation
or simply for better opportunities.
 https://harappa.education/harappa-diaries/strong-ties-and-weak-ties-at-work/
 BUILDING RELATIONSHIP MAP
 Because influence is so heavily connected to social and professional networks, it's a good
idea to think about strategically building your influence network. One way for
professionals to get a visual representation of their current and potential future networks is
through the use of relationship mapping. Follow these instructions to create your
relationship map:
 1. Identify significant relationships. These relationships are with individuals on whom
you rely to get work done, to obtain resources for you, to give you advice and counsel, to
accept your work, or to offer support or information. List up to 15 people with whom you
have or should have a working relationship. These can be clients, managers, peers, direct
reports, experts, consultants, and so forth.
 2. Write the names of the individuals you identified in step 1 on the accompanying
map. Plot them according to where they work (e.g., in your unit, outside your unit but
inside your organization, or outside your organization).
 3. Indicate the strength of your relationship with each individual. Draw a circle around
people with whom you have a strong relationship. Draw a box around those with whom
you need to build a better relationship.
 FREQUENCY AND
EFFECTIVENESS OF VARIOUS
INFLUENCE TACTICS
 Regardless of the influence tactic being used, the individuals being influenced are likely to
have one of three reactions: resistance, compliance, or commitment.
• Resistance. The influence target is opposed to carrying out the request and will resist
accomplishing what is being requested, although that resistance may not be immediately
obvious to the influencer. For example, someone might say,"Sure, I'lI look into that for you,"
but with no intention of doing so.
• Compliance. The target is willing to do what the influencer asks but is not enthusiastic
about it. He or she will do only what is requested, nothing more. In general, most people
who engage in compliance are doing things they feel they must, but they may not be happy
about it.
• Commitment. The target agrees with the request and strives to carry it out with energy and
engagement, often doing more than is requested. Commitment is often referred to as
internalization, because people who commit to influence attempts are "all in"-ready to do
whatever it takes to accomplish whatever the influencer needs to be done.
 INFLUENCE
TACTICS
1. Rational Persuasion: Using logical
arguments and factual evidence.
 2. Pressure: Using demands, threats,
or intimidation.
 3. Personal Appeals: Appealing to
loyalty and friendship.
 4. Exchange: Offering favors or
resources.
 5. Ingratiation: Using flattery and
creating goodwill.
 6. Coalition Tactics: Seeking the aid
of others to persuade.
INFLUENCE
TACTICS
 7. Legitimazing Tactics: Basing a
request on authority or right.
 8. Consultation: Involving others in
decision-making.
 9. Inspirational Appeals: Appealing
to values, emotions, and beliefs.
 10. Apprising: Explaining to an
individual how fulfilling a request or
supporting an idea will produce a
personal benefit for or help the
individual.
 11. Collaboration: Offering to assist
with a given task or effort.
COLLECTION OF BEHAVIORS
 POLITICAL SKILLS. Like it or
not, politics often play an important
role in the work environment.
 Downward influence tactics (i.e., the type of tactics
used to influence subordinates) have been further
grouped into hard, soft and rational tactics,
differentiated by the degree to which the agent takes
control over the situation or threaten the target's
autonomy. Hard influence tactics (e.g., pressure,
apprising) draw on positional power to force
compliance in an impersonal way. Conversely, soft
influence tactics -such as inspirational appeals,
consultation, ingratiation - are associated with
employee commitment through the transformation of
employees' value systems to be aligned with
organizational goals - which also reflected a
transformational leadership style. Rational influence
tactics-e.g., exchange, persuasion on the basis of
logic or self-interest rather than transforming values -
were closely aligned with transactional leadership.
Among these, soft and rational influence tactics have
been proven to be most effective in engaging
employee commitment, and are being more
frequently used by leaders comparing to hard
influence tactics.

 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
339069539_Leaders'_Influence_Tactics_for_Safety_An_Exploratory_S
tudy_in_the_Maritime_Context#pf5
DEVELOPING
POLITICAL
SKILLS

HTTPS://IMAGES.APP.GOO.GL/
CG4BNTVU5TWBDJ4C9
POLITICAL
SKILLS
 Political skills give us the ability to
effectively understand others at work
and to use such knowledge to
influence them to act in ways that
enhance our personal and/or
organizational objectives.
 Political skills combine the most
effective influence tactics, resulting in
a “disarmingly charming and engaging
manner that inspires confidence, trust,
and sincerity.
CIALDINI’S SIX
PRINCIPLES
 1. Friendship/Liking: Building rapport and personal connections
to gain influence.
2. Commitment and Consistency: Encouraging others to commit
to a course of action and remain consistent with it.
3. Scarcity: Highlighting the uniqueness or limited availability of
an opportunity to encourage action.
4. Reciprocity: Creating a sense of obligation by doing something
for others, expecting they will return the favor.
5. Social Proof: Utilizing the behavior and beliefs of others as a
guide for one's own actions.
6. Appeals to Authority: Leveraging one's position or role within
the organization to guide or direct actions.
INFLUENCING UP
To be effective, employees need to also
influence their bosses, not just peers
and lower-level employee.
What does it mean to manage your boss? Does it
mean being polite, even withholding information
that might distress the boss?

 Effective organizational functioning demands that

people have a healthy disrespect for their boss, feel
free to express emotions and opinions openly, and
are comfortable engaging in banter and give-and-
take.
 The employee-manager relationship is perhaps the
most important work relationship; it needs to be
built on trust and reciprocity. Communication is an
important factor of success in any relationship.
POWER ETIQUETTE AND
PROFESSIONAL INFLUENCE
 MANNERS AND ETIQUETTE go hand in hand, but are not the same. Etiquette
is a set of rules dealing with exterior form. Manners are an expression of inner
character. According to Emily Post, perhaps the most influential American writer
on etiquette in the twentieth century, "manners are made up of trivialities of
deportment which can be easily learned if one does not happen to know them;
manner is personality—the outward manifestation of one's innate character and
attitude toward life." Manners are common sense, a combination of generosity of
spirit and specific know-how. Rules of etiquette are the guiding codes that enable
us to practice manners.
 Most commentators would agree with Emily Post and add that rather than being
stiff, rigid rules, proper etiquette is meant to help people get along with each other
and avoid conflict. Respect, kindness, and consideration form the basis of good
manners and good citizen-ship. Etiquette becomes the language of manners. Rules
of etiquette cover behavior in talking, acting, living, and moving; in other words,
every type of interaction and every situation.
(https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/manners-
and-etiquette)
Make a Good First Impression and
Introduce Others.
Learn and Use Names.
Arrive Early to Work and Meetings.
Actively Build Your Network.
Regularly Talk to Little About Yourself
Be Authentic; Do not Fake It.
Show Appreciation.
Be Smart about Social Media.
POWER is not a dirty word. In fact,
the use of power is essential for
success in organizations. The
effective use of power goes well
beyond any formal authority and
extends to influence tactics-social,
political, and otherwise – have
been found to be influential in
organizational life. No one wants to
be powerless in a job or
organization, so understanding the
concepts and evidence base related
to the use of power in
organizations is one hallmark or
career success.
 Positive influence relies heavily on an individual's
power and authority, but having power and authoity
will not guarantee the ability to influence.
 Humans are highly conforming in their behavior;
thus, individuals often use the tendency to conform
with norms as a way to influence others. Negative or
unproductive norms can lead to very dysfunctional
behavior, given the likelihood that people will
conform to such norms.
 Power stems from multiple sources, including
aspects of the individual (i.e., referent and expert
power) and his or her position (i.e., coercive, reward,
and legitimate power). Building on these power
bases increases the likelihood of successful influence,
although some power bases, on, soft tactics, such as
consultation or inspiration are likely to be more
effective than hard tactics, like pressure and
coalition.
 Influencing up is all about building a positive and
reciprocal relationship with one's direct manager. To
do so requires fully understanding the boss and how
he or she operates. In addition, successful upward
influence requires paying attention to influence
tactics that are more likely to be successful
TO PONDER... POWER AND INFLUENCE IN THE
WORKPLACE
 1. Reflecting on Your Current Role:
-How do you perceive power and influence in your current job role within the organization?
- Can you identify the sources of power that are most prevalent in your role, and how do they
impact your ability to influence outcomes?
 2. Navigating Organizational Dynamics:
-How do power dynamics influence decision-making processes within your organization, and how
have you observed the use of influence tactics in shaping these decisions?
-- In what ways do organizational structures and hierarchies impact the distribution of power and
influence among employees in your workplace?
 3. Leadership and Influence:
-How does leadership style influence the power dynamics within your team or department, and what
strategies do effective leaders use to exert influence in your organization?
-- Have you encountered situations where leaders have successfully leveraged their power and
influence to drive positive change or overcome challenges within the organization?
 4. Impact on Organizational Performance:
-How do power struggles and conflicts related to influence impact team dynamics and overall
organizational performance in your experience?
-- Can you share examples of how effective use of power and influence has contributed to achieving
organizational goals or driving innovation in your workplace?