Types of Power

Types of Power

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Introduction

Living in today’s business world you encounter all different types of people. Whether you are an employee or a supervisor we all have different personalities and different ways of managing people and situations. Five different types of powers that people use when managing are referent, reward, expert, coercive, and legitimate. All of these have different pros and cons about them.

Referent power is the ability of a leader to influence followers due to the follower's loyalty and desire to gain approval. This type of power is normally gained by leaders with high level of personal skill. The type of power that I find to be most effective in me in my past rolls as a supervisor is the referent and reward power rolls. I have always tried to incorporate my employee’s opinions and ideas into my decisions that I make as a leader. The idea of working as a team and being a team player even as a leader has led my employee’s to trust and respect me as a leader. They value my opinion because they know I value theirs.

Reward power is conveyed through rewarding individuals for complying with what has been ask of them. Employees who comply with directions normally are rewarded through giving bonuses, raises, a promotion, or extra time off from work. In my real estate firm, I have given my agents extra commission or a raise in commission for closing a big property or obtaining an additional certification to their license as a real estate agent. By rewarding for such things, you are showing you appreciation of hard work and dedication that the individual has toward their job and company. Through learning the different types of power in the past week, I can continue to enhance my leadership role by positive reinforcement of being a team player and earning trust and respect from employee’s as well as rewarding them in different ways for things they do personally to further their wellbeing and that of the companies as well.

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