Taxonomy of Social Power

French and Raven (1959) came up with five ways that individuals can influence others. It is important that we understand these bases of power, which are: expert power, referent power, legitimate power, reward power, and coercive power.

Expert Power: Expert power is primarily a function of the leader. It is the power of knowledge. An expert in a particular area can influence other people. In psychology there are certain people that are seen as experts in specific topics. For instance, a leading theorist in intergroup conflict is Felicia Pratto. Thus, Dr. Pratto has expert power. As another example, a surgeon may have power in a hospital because people depend on her or his knowledge and skill.

Expert power is a function of the amount of knowledge one possesses relative to the rest of the members of the group. This means that in certain situations, followers may have more expert power than leaders. When a new manager is appointed, the followers (who have worked at the job for 10 years) have more expert power than the leader.

Referent Power: Referent power is a function of the leader and follower. It is the potential influence one had due to the strength of the relationship between the leader and followers. When the leader is seen as a role model, he/she has referent power. Referent power takes time to develop. It can also have a downside. A desire to keep referent power may limit a leader’s actions in some situations. Managers that want to be liked by employees may have a hard time firing an incompetent employee, even when the person is costing the organization more money than they are bringing in.

Legitimate Power: Legitimate power is a function of the situation. It depends on a person’s role in the organization and can be thought of as one’s formal authority. The boss has the legitimate power to assign projects and the teacher has the legitimate power to assign papers and homework. Legitimate power means that a leader has authority because of the role he or she has been assigned in the organization.

Keep in mind that legitimate power and leadership are not the same thing. Holding a position and being a leader are not synonymous. While the head of an organization may be a true leader, s/he may also not be a true leader. People need more than legitimate power to be successful leaders.

Reward Power: Reward power is a function of the relationship among leaders, followers, and the situation. It involves the potential to influence others due to one’s control over desired resources. Someone with reward power can give raises, bonuses, promotions, can distribute parking spaces, or can grant tenure. Baseball players can be elected to the all-star team. Since the fans can elect the players, they have reward power.

The rewards that are distributed depend on the situation. For example, fans can elect baseball players to the all-star team, but cannot elect to give the players new cars (not that they need them!) A manager at Wendy’s can choose the employee of the month, but cannot elect an employee to the all-star team.

In some situations a leader’s use of reward power can be a problem. A superior may think that a reward is valued when it is not. For examples, a manager at Target may think that employees really want to be the employee of the month. However, employees may think that this is a stupid reward, and don’t want their picture on the wall for everyone to see and make fun of. Another problem with reward power, is that it may produce compliance, but not commitment. Subordinates may get the job done to get the reward, but not do anything extra to make the company a better place.

 Leaders can influence others based on reward power if they:

• Determine what rewards are available.
• Determine what rewards are valued by followers, and
• Establish clear policies for the fair administration of rewards for good performance.

Coercive Power: Coercive power is a function of the leader and situation. It is the opposite of reward power. It is the ability to control others through the fear of punishment or the loss of valued outcomes. One example of coercive power that most of us are familiar with is a policeman giving tickets for speeding.

Coercive power can be used appropriately or inappropriately. An example of coercive power being used inappropriately was the cult led by Jim Jones. Under Jones’s direction, 912 people drank from large vats of a flavored drink containing cyanide. Jones had a history of leading by fear and thus held coercive power over his followers.

Coercive power can also be expressed implicitly. For example, employees may feel pressure to donate money to their boss’s favorite charity.

You may now want to know which type of power is best to use. Unfortunately, this question cannot be answered. The situation influences the type of power that a leader should use. Generally, though, leaders who rely mostly on referent and expert power have subordinates who are more motivated and satisfied, are absent less, and perform better (Yukl, 2009).

We also know a few things about effective leaders. First, effective leaders usually take advantage of all their sources of power. Second, leaders in well-functioning organizations have strong influence over their subordinates, but are also open to being influenced by them. Third, leaders vary in the extent to which they share power with subordinates. Finally, effective leaders generally work to increase their various power bases.