Power and Leadership

A number of perspectives have been developed to explain power and leadership. We will now discuss different sources of power.

Sources of Leader Power

Where do leaders get their power? Do leaders just have their power, or do they get it from their followers? Do I have natural power as an instructor, or do you as students give it to me?

There are many things that affect a leader’s or a follower’s power. Can you recall a time when you were called to your boss’s office (or the principal’s office) for a meeting? Maybe you were kept sitting in the office for an hour. Or maybe you had to stand up and wait because there was no place to sit. I bet you felt really frustrated and powerless. I hate it when I’m in this situation! This is the leader establishing power over us. Office furniture can also signify power. For example, a rectangular meeting table signifies that those sitting at the ends have power, while a circular table signifies that everyone has equal power. Those with private offices have more power than those sitting in a cubicle.

Think about the last time you were in your doctor’s office. Were there diplomas and awards on the wall? This is another way to increase one’s power. So is using a title such as “doctor”. James Brown is seen as having more power if he is called “Dr. Brown” than if he is called “Mr. Brown.”

Finally, clothing can affect one’s power. When we want to be seen as more powerful we often dress in suits. This is because we are judged to have more power dressed in a suit than in jeans and a t-shirt. A classic study by Bickman (1974) shows this effect. In this study, people walking along a sidewalk were stopped by a person dressed in regular clothes or a security guard uniform. They were asked to give a dime to a guy parked at a meter who had no change. When the request was given by someone in regular clothes, less than half of the participants actually gave the man change. However, when the request was given by the person dressed as a security guard, over 90% gave the man change.