Power

In general, power is the capability of one party (a social unit such as an individual, a group, or an organization) to influence another party. More specifically, power is typically viewed as an important aspect of leadership, referring to a leader's ability to influence followers. Leadership power is derived from the opportunities inherent in a person's position and personal attributes of the leader. French and Raven, researchers of leadership power, developed a taxonomy to further classify sources of power. Their taxonomy includes three types of position power (legitimate, reward, and coercive) and two types of personal power (expert and referent).

Legitimate power is influence that stems from the formal authority over work that is associated with an organizational position. However, a person who holds a title such as “chief of staff” does not necessarily have legitimate power. For a person of authority to have influence over others, individuals must be willing to comply with requests. The way in which legitimate power is exercised, either positively or negatively, can affect a follower's willingness to comply. For example, a polite request that is followed by an explanation is likely to be more effective than a curt demand. Legitimate power is more likely to be prevalent in health care institutions with very clear chains of command.

Reward power is influence that is derived from followers' perception that a leader has the ability to deliver valued rewards. Leaders may have control over rewards such as pay increases, bonuses, promotions, a more flexible work schedule, and a better office. The authority to grant rewards varies greatly within and between organizations. For instance, a physician who is the sole owner of a private practice likely has greater control over rewards than the chair of a pediatrics department at a teaching hospital.

Similarly, coercive power is based on the leader's capacity to deliver punishments to employees. Both threats of punishment and actual punishment give a leader coercive power; however, if a punishment does not follow a threat when the wrong behavior occurs, the usefulness of coercive power is lost. Coercive power should be used with caution, because it is likely to result in undesirable side effects such as resentment, decreased job satisfaction, and turnover.

Leaders have expert power when they possess superior task-relevant knowledge. For example, specialized physicians have potential influence over generalized practitioners because they have unique information about the best way to approach a particular medical issue. Furthermore, when an individual has extensive expert power and is perceived to be a reliable source, a follower may be willing to comply with the leader's request without an explanation. This is frequently the case when interns take orders from supervising physicians.

Finally, referent power originates from employees' desire to please a leader toward whom they have strong feelings of loyalty and admiration. Charismatic leaders are often described as possessing referent power. Leaders can increase their referent power by acting supportive, making selfsacrifices, defending their followers, and keeping promises.