Leaders hold a position of power in the workplace—this we know, understand, and accept on most days. We treat authority with some reverence and listen to those who hold different forms of power at work in order to function within the organization. Despite feeling like followers rather than doers, however, there are many different types of power in a workspace that allow for each employee to showcase their authority in innovative ways. Recognizing and understanding this power can mean the difference between mechanically getting through the workday and feeling a sense of control over it.
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How do We Define Power in the Workplace?
Power can be defined as “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviors of others or the course of events.” Leaders exercise this power most willingly and frequently, determining the course an organization is set to take and what role everyone plays in the process. An organization as a whole utilizes its power to reshape the industry and determine what trends get set into motion. Even customers exert the power of choice and determine what products sell or what kind of preferences they want to showcase to guide businesses into prioritizing them.
Yet power in the workplace does not travel only from the top down—many forms of power at work travel from the bottom up as well. Unsatisfied employees begin to display their dissatisfaction in one way or another, which forces employers to make some changes or risk losing a significant chunk of their workforce. Employees have the power to influence each other and shape how committed their team is to their work. These same employees also employ different types of power to make decisions every day, which eventually makes its way to influencing the future of the organization.
A union is formed when enough workers convince their colleagues that it is the only way forward. An employee’s ideas and expertise are capable of making an organization find new direction on a regular Monday that no one had high hopes for. Understanding “power” and the ability to employ it and influence the workplace is a learning that will always serve you well.
Types of Power In the Workplace
You might be sitting at work right now, looking around the room wondering how you could possibly have any influence on the power dynamics at work. The first point to remember is that power does not just come from position. If you ask those around you if they want to take a break and grab a coffee, the suggestion is enough to get some on their feet. It is also enough to have the rest thinking about their workload and how much they have left on their schedule for the day. That one suggestion has some power to momentarily give everyone a reason to stretch and brush off the sleepiness before returning to their tasks.
In similar ways, there are many types of power in the workplace that you might want to consider. Psychologists Bertram Raven and John French were the first to officially conceptualize the forms of power at work. Psychologist Nicole Lipkin further cemented the types of power into the categories we recognize today.
Legitimate Power At Work
This type of power matches the idea of power in the most traditional sense and is determined by your role. If you get promoted to the role of manager, you now have the ability to review the work others are executing and instruct them on what to do next. This sort of power is often non-negotiable unless someone with greater power comes and changes the rules. The importance of power here is well-documented—seniors direct every employee’s workday, assign and reassign work, make decisions on project outcomes and goals, determine whether the employee has a future at the organization, etc.
Sometimes this legitimate power comes to you due to your qualifications, sometimes it has to be won through time and patience at an organization, and sometimes you happen on such power by chance. Regardless of how it arises, the new position is an important step in the power dynamics at work and comes with multiple responsibilities.
Coercive Power
This form of power utilizes force and can be misused if we’re not careful. Convincing your team to use your idea for the next campaign is not coercion as it requires them to arrive at the same page that you are. Coercive power in the workplace corners others into following through with a plan at the risk of facing consequences. When an employee warns his colleague to get the job done or risk being reported to the seniors at an organization, or a manager threatens to fire an employee if their performance does not improve, there is coercive power at play.
This form of power also comes from leaders and management more than employees who work at the same level, but they’re not the only ones to use this form of workplace power. Using coercive power usually gets the job done, but it can cause a lot of harm in the process and is usually best avoided.
Expert Power At Work
When a company wants to improve their diversity quotient at work, it often brings in an expert whose suggestions are treated as the obvious answer to its DEI needs. An expert has an extensive knowledge base that they can draw from to make suggestions and add value to the workplace. An employee who has just joined an organization but has years of experience working on a specific product or category can easily impress his coworkers with his insight.
Specializing in an area and building up your reputation as an expert in the field can take you a long way within an organization. Others will come to you for advice, and your input will hold more weight when it comes to working on a specific area of interest. Understanding power from the perspective of someone who has spent years perfecting their craft will give you some insight into how you can also rise to a similar position.
Importance of Reward Power
Offering rewards and benefits has been an easy motivator for eons now, and this is unlikely to change anytime soon. If you’re in a position to reward employees for a job well done, there is often room to control how the work is done, the quality of results, and the willingness with which everything is executed. There are many obvious benefits of using reward power, where employees become more pliable and ready to work.
There are many downsides to reward power as well. If the standard set is a reward for every sign of good performance, there is the possibility that the moment the rewards slow down, the performance will as well. The work will only be done in pursuit of the reward and not out of genuine interest in the task, and the need for quality checks will increase. During times when the rewards won’t be as easy to hand out, performance might struggle as well. This type of power can be compelling but it needs to be used carefully.
Informational Power
Similar to expert power, knowledge maintains its importance here too. Instead of knowledge about a topic or field, however, this type of power focuses on the understanding of the organization. If you find out that the client brief has been updated, you hold the power to determine how the project unfolds. If you choose to abuse the power and withhold the information, the rest of the team and the project suffers but you’re seen in a positive light because your work reflects the changes. From the perspective of your team, you become the unreliable link.
At various points in your career, you will get to hold some degree of informational power. What you do with it can determine your future.
Referent Power
This form of power at work is one of the most valuable as it is earned carefully within the workplace. It refers to the ability to gain respect and appreciation from colleagues based on the work that you’ve accomplished to become who you are. Expertise might be a part of it, but referent power extends beyond knowing a lot about your area of interest. Most organizations have a few employees who have proven themselves time and again by their work. When you hear of them having achieved a new milestone, you aren’t surprised because you’ve seen their work ethic in action and know they deserve it.
Coworkers who have a positive attitude and are known for being helpful are frequently approached for assistance because they remain certain that they will receive the assistance they need. Regardless of your position at the company, building this type of power is possible for anyone who commits to the cause.
Connection Power
Infrequently discussed but frequently utilized, connection power hinges on who you know. Building up a network of contacts is crucial in every career path regardless of the industry and an effort to maintain these connections can take you far. If you help those in your contact and create pathways for communication with them, you might find yourself with a support system wherever you go.
The importance of this power cannot be understated as it can open new doors for you and allow you to be at your influential best at all times. Building connections is not easy but those who manage it can find success easily. It can allow you to get your ideas to a larger audience, place yourself as the first choice for new positions, and allow you to play a role in setting the path for the future of your team or organization as a whole.
Understanding these 7 types of power can help you be more perceptive about the kind of influence the people around you are wielding. It can also help you determine what type is within your reach and what you can do to optimize your control over it. Power in the workplace is never a bad thing but how you use it can determine what happens next.