Leadership analysis - Walt disney 4
Skaur
PowerandPolitics_Fnl.ppt
Power and Politics
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The Meaning of Power
- Power is the capacity of a person, team, or organization to influence others
- The potential to influence others
- People have power they don’t use and may not know they possess
- Power requires one person’s perception of dependence on another person
Why does having power matter?
- With power you can:
- Intercede favorably on behalf of someone in trouble
- Get a desirable placement for a talented subordinate
- Get approval for expenditures beyond the budget
- Get items on and off agendas
- Get fast access to decision makers
- Maintain regular, frequent contact with decision makers
- Acquire early information about decisions and policy shifts
Types of Power
- Five types of power:
- Legitimate
- Reward
- Coercive
- Referent
- Expert
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Legitimate Power
- Basis: Power granted to a person based on his or her position in the organization
- In organizations that have weak project management structures, the project leader has very little legitimate power
- Those with legitimate power can help with providing resources, project team legitimacy, and empowering project team leaders – take advantage of interactions with those in power
Reward Power
- Basis: Derives from being in a position to administer rewards that a follower desires
- Not just money – appreciation, knowledge of how efforts improve the organization, others?
- Leaders should understand basis of follower’s motivation (intrinsic/extrinsic) and reward accordingly, when possible
Coercive Power
- Basis: The ability of a leader to punish followers for not complying with a directive
- Most project managers do not have this power, however, this is the least desirable form of power in terms of motivating action
Referent Power
- Basis: The power leaders gain when people identify with them
- Lead by example – be role models for others to follow
- Referent power may be destroyed by immoral, unethical or rude actions
Expert Power
- Basis: The leader has important knowledge or expertise about an activity being performed
- Does not have to be technical expertise – political maneuvering, managing projects, etc.
- Only accorded to a person if the team values it
Information and Power
- Control over information flow
- Based on legitimate power
- Relates to formal communication network
- Common in centralized structures (wheel pattern)
- Coping with uncertainty
- Those who know how to cope with organizational uncertainties gain power
- Prevention
- Forecasting
- Absorption
Consequences of Power
Reward
Power
Legitimate Power
Coercive
Power
Expert
Power
Referent
Power
Sources of Power
Consequences of Power
Commitment
Resistance
Compliance
Power and Influence Tactics
- Power can change over time
- Personal power can be easily gained or lost
- Abuse of power will result in loss of power
- Influence tactics can change based on circumstances
- Influence includes:
- Legitimization
- Consultation
- Rational Persuasion
- Ingratiation
- Exchange
- Pressure
- Coalitions
- Personal Appeal
- Inspirational Appeal
(Lussier & Achua, 2012)
Research has identified nine distinct influence tactics. First is legitimacy. Relying on your authority position or saying a request accords with organizational policies or rules. Second is rational persuasion. Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate a request is reasonable. Third is inspirational appeals. Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a target’s values, needs, hopes, and aspirations. Fourth is consultation. Increasing the target’s support by involving him or her in deciding how you will accomplish your plan. Fifth is exchange. Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request. Sixth is personal appeals. Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty. Seventh is ingratiation. Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making a request. Eighth is pressure. Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats. And none is coalitions. Enlisting the aid or support of others to persuade the target to agree.
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Organizational Politics
- “Is the process of gaining and using power.”
- Politics:
- Is a reality of organizations
- Is a medium of exchange
- Directly affects individual and organization success
(Lussier & Achua, 2012, P. 161)
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Common Political Behaviors
Networking:
- Is the process of developing relationships for the purpose of socializing and politicking
- Contributes most to successful management advancement
Reciprocity:
Coalitions:
- Involves creating obligations and developing alliances, and using them to accomplish objectives
- Uses the exchange influence tactic
- Doing something for someone creates a debt to be collected at a future time
- Use reciprocity and networking
- Is a political influence tactic
(Lussier & Achua, 2012)
Types of
Organizational
Politics
Managing
impressions
Attacking and
blaming
Creating
obligations
Cultivating
networks
Types of Organizational Politics
Controlling
information
Forming
coalitions
Conditions
Supporting
Organizational
Politics
Scarce
Resources
Complex and
Ambiguous
Decisions
Personal
Characteristics
Tolerance of
Politics
Conditions for Organizational Politics
Power, Politics, and Leadership
Politics are inherently neither “good” or “bad”
- Remember definitions:
- Politics: “Is the process of gaining and using power.”
- Power: “The leader’s potential influence over followers.”
- Influencing: ”Is the process of affecting others’ attitudes and behavior in order to achieve an objective.”
- Leadership: "The influencing process of leaders and followers to achieve organizational objectives through change.”
(Lussier & Achua, 2012)
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Developing Political Skills
- Learn the organizational culture and power players
- Develop good working relationships, especially with your manager
- Be a loyal, honest team player
- Gain recognition
(Lussier & Achua, 2012)
Controlling Political Behavior
Peer Pressure
Against Politics
Remove
Political Norms
Free Flowing
Information
Manage Change
Effectively
Provide
Sufficient
Resources
Introduce
Clear Rules
Hire
Low-Politics
Employees
Increase
Opportunities
for Dialogue
Politics, Power, and Ethical Behavior
- It is difficult to differentiate ethical from unethical politics
- What is the utility of engaging in political behavior?
- Is it worth the risk?
- Does the political activity conform to standards of equity and justice?
- Will others be harmed in the process?
- Use of power
- Helps to meet organizational objectives when used ethically
- Is only unethical when used to promote your self-interest at the expense of others
- With strong power base—recognize the ability of power to corrupt
- Easier for the powerless to act ethically
(Lussier & Achua, 2012)
Although there are no clear-cut ways to differentiate ethical from unethical politicking, there are some questions you should consider. For example, what is the utility of engaging in politicking? Sometimes we engage in political behavior for little good reason. Major league baseball player Al Martin claimed he played football at USC when in fact he never did. As a baseball player, he had little to gain by pretending to have played football. Outright lies like this may be a rather extreme example of impression management, but many of us have distorted information to make a favorable impression.
One thing to keep in mind is whether it’s really worth the risk. Another question to ask is this, “How does the utility of engaging in the political behavior balance out any harm (or potential harm) it will do to others?” Complimenting a supervisor on his or her appearance in order to curry favor is probably much less harmful than grabbing credit for a project that others deserve.
Finally, does the political activity conform to standards of equity and justice? Sometimes it is difficult to weigh the costs and benefits of a political action, but its ethicality is clear. The department head who inflates the performance evaluation of a favored employee and deflates the evaluation of a disfavored employee—and then uses these evaluations to justify giving the former a big raise and nothing to the latter—has treated the disfavored employee unfairly. Unfortunately, powerful people can become very good at explaining self-serving behaviors in terms of the organization’s best interests. They can persuasively argue that unfair actions are really fair and just.
Our point is that immoral people can justify almost any behavior. Those who are powerful, articulate, and persuasive are most vulnerable to ethical lapses because they are likely to be able to get away with unethical practices successfully.
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