My Power to Influence Essay

 My Power to Influence Essay

1. Read the below article

2. Write a short essay. Please include the following:

1. Discuss three bases of individual power from the article (reward, legitimate, etc.) which you find in your workplace or other areas of your life.

2. Share at least one example of these bases of power are used to influence others. Which of the bases do you find audiences to be most receptive or responsive? Are there any bases of power that you feel could be used in a more positive manner?

The body of this paper should be 3-5 pages in length, not including the Title and References pages and should adhere to the APA format writing standards

Leadership

How to Improve Your Ability to Influence Others

As acquisition/contracting business professionals, we often find ourselves in situations where we need to influence others in our organization without necessarily having any

“formal” power over them. We face difficult choices and competing interests from our internal and external customers, managers, and the federal acquisition environment. We have the pressures of a global marketplace; competing interests; short deadlines; unrealistic expectations; and the statutes, rules, and regulations that guide us. The challenge can be mitigated by helping the various stakeholders we engage with appreciate all the factors and circumstances that must be considered—in short, “influence” them.

Influence is the ability to change or reinforce others’ attitudes, opinions, or behaviors. Influence is power. To successfully influence others, we must understand the five bases of individual power and influence:

1 | Reward Power: Results from the holder’s ability to reward others;

2 | Coercive Power: Results from the holder’s ability to punish others;

3 | Legitimate Power: Based on recognition of the holder’s formal authority in a given situation;

4 | Referent Power: Based on a person’s attraction to or desire to be like or emulate the person who is in a position of power; and

5 | Expert Power: Based on the belief that the power holder has special knowledge or expertise.

Most people mistakenly believe that the most effective way of influencing others is through the ability to reward, to punish, or by simply

8 Contract Management | March 2013

possessing a formal position of authority over the other party (i.e., the first three sources of power). Surprisingly, research shows that leaders who combine expert and referent power tend to be most effective. These two sources of power are based more on characteristics of the person than the position or situation. Therefore, their combination is likely to result in greater acceptance of the leader and greater effectiveness on a long-term basis.

Research also shows that the one critical condition to achieving all types of power is credibility. Without credibility, influence without positional authority is virtually impossible. Credibility takes time and in many ways comes from the answers to the following questions: Does the individual want to do the right thing? Does he or she know the right thing to do? And can he or she get it done?

Personal power is the one area each of us can control and improve upon in order to drive more influence in your organization. The sources of personal power are:

· Expertise—relevant knowledge and skills;

· Track Record—relevant experience;

· Attractiveness—attributes that others find appealing, identify with, and admire;

· Effort—expenditure of time and energy;

· Information—acts or reasoning that the leader possesses and is able

to share convincingly with team members; and

· Goodwill—feelings of support and respect that the leader has built with others.

The ability to influence others is a critical trait exhibited by successful leaders. Understand the sources of personal power and work at making them the origins of your inner strength, credibility, and character.

It is my great honor to serve as your conference chair for the upcoming World Congress, July 21–24, in Nashville, Tennessee. I have been an active member of NCMA since 1980 and these conferences have been instrumental in the development of my career.

(I haven’t missed a World Congress yet!) There is no better place to obtain knowledge on the current and most relevant issues that affect contract management. I could always find a session that helped expand my skillsets and when I was a session presenter, I learned even more about the subject through preparing to facilitate the session. World Congress provides the best forum to reconnect with our network of contract management professionals. See you in Nashville!

Rodney F. Matsushima, Fellow NCMA Board of Directon