Leadership
Name
Institution
Leadership
The power relationship between leaders and followers in traditional leadership approaches and contemporary organizations
The various leadership approaches help understand if power should be present in leadership, and if it is true that lack of power makes the leader and followers equal. The different traditional approaches, including trait theory to leadership, claim that leaders are superior to their followers through possessing certain appropriate traits or natural ability (Kellerman, 2010, p. 90). Leaders are superior, and this is why they have followers. Such leaders’ superior powers make them have a ‘voice’ over followers (Bryman, 2011, p. 196). Therefore, superior power distinguishes leaders from followers, and since followers recognize such powers, superior power is not a problem. In contemporary organizations, the various dispersed leadership theories depict that power is shared between the leader and followers (Bryman, 2011, p. 197). Because of power-sharing, there is no clear boundary between the leader and followers, which leads to confusion since it is hard to differentiate between the leader and followers. Such complexity means that power in this situation is a problem. At times, leaders know when they are less or more willing to share power (Feenstra, Jordan, Walter, & Stoker, 2020, p. 123). Also, dispersed theories do not explain how power is shared between the leader and the follower. In their defense, they argue that as followers are empowered, perceived manipulation strings are cut (Bryman, 2011, p. 198). In deep-structured tensions, power still distinguishes leaders from followers since reinforcement in practice and theory makes a leader more superior. It leads to the urge for leadership. Therefore, leadership and power go hand in hand since power is that element that distinguishes a leader from his or her followers (Bryman, 2011, p. 196).
My informed opinion using third-person voice on the following questions
Does the position of power change the person who possesses it? Include examples of 4 positive and four negative changes.
Yes, the position of power can result in positive or negative changes. The first positive change is that power improves the ability of the leader to raise performance (Tost, Gino, & Larrick, 2013, p. 1469). He will be able to use his power to encourage the desired behavior, mainly from followers, and as the followers do their job, the desired performance will be achieved. Typically, ethical leadership leads to intrinsic motivation (Tu & Lu, 2016, p. 132). The second positive change is it will make him see the potential contributions of his followers to help achieve the team’s common goal since he will be more likely to encourage and listen to them. He can also use soft power, which allows him to affect followers to obtain the desired results through attraction rather than payment or coercion (Nye Jr, 2008, p. 98). The third positive change is that power can make him creative as he thinks about how to achieve goals. Lastly, power can make him feel optimistic and show calmness, mainly during a crisis (Brassey, J., & Kruyt, 2020, p. 3).
The negative changes that power can have on the individual possessing it is due to his psychological experience of such power (Foulk, Lanaj, Tu, Erez, & Archambeau, 2018, p. 670). Some of the negative changes include:
- Power will make him objectify others rather than treating them as individuals (Tost, Gino, & Larrick, 2013, p. 1466).
- Heightened power makes a leader have verbal dominance (Tost, Gino, & Larrick, 2013, p. 1497). Such verbal dominance will reduce the communication of the team and its performance.
- He will be less likely to listen or take others’ opinions as he will devalue their contributions, opinions, and perspectives. (Tost, Gino, & Larrick, 2013, p. 1466).
- He is more likely to stereotype his followers as opposed to seeing such people as individuals (Tost, Gino, & Larrick, 2013, p. 1466).
How might one guard against power negatively changing oneself as a leader?
He should ensure to include the opinions of others to ensure that everyone feels part of the team. He should create feedback or interactive sessions with followers, where he addresses grievances. Understanding that followers depend on him in his leadership (Tost, & Johnson, 2019, p. 30) helps lead them well. He should also show empathy and understand his power. Lastly, he should treat followers as individuals, not just as objects as seen in leader-centered approach (Meindl, 1995, p. 335) for him to accomplish the team’s goal.
References
Brassey, J., & Kruyt, M. (2020). How to demonstrate calm and optimism in a crisis. McKinsey & Company, April.
Bryman, A. (2011). The SAGE handbook of leadership. London: Sage. ISBN 978-1-84860-146-8
Feenstra, S., Jordan, J., Walter, F., & Stoker, J. I. (2020). Antecedents of leaders’ power-sharing: The roles of power instability and distrust. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 157, 115-128.
Foulk, T. A., Lanaj, K., Tu, M. H., Erez, A., & Archambeau, L. (2018). Heavy is the head that wears the crown: An actor-centric approach to daily psychological power, abusive leader behavior, and perceived incivility. Academy of Management Journal, 61(2), 661-684.
Kellerman, B. (2010). Leadership: Essential selections on power, authority, and influence. McGraw Hill Professional.
Meindl, J. R. (1995). The romance of leadership as a follower-centric theory: A social constructionist approach. The leadership quarterly, 6(3), 329-341.
Nye Jr, J. S. (2008). Public diplomacy and soft power. The annals of the American academy of political and social science, 616(1), 94-109.
Tost, L. P., Gino, F., & Larrick, R. P. (2013). When power makes others speechless: The negative impact of leader power on team performance. Academy of Management Journal, 56(5), 1465-1486.
Tost, L. P., & Johnson, H. H. (2019). The prosocial side of power: How structural power over subordinates can promote social responsibility. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 152, 25-46.
Tu, Y., & Lu, X. (2016). Do ethical leaders give followers the confidence to go the extra mile? The moderating role of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Business Ethics, 135(1), 129-144.