Additional Learning Exercises and Applications
DISPLAY 13.1 Leadership Roles and Management Functions Associated With Organizational, Political, and Personal Power
12. Promotes subordinate identification and recognition
Understanding Power
Power may be feared, worshipped, or mistrusted. It is frequently misunderstood. Our first experience with power usually occurs in the family unit. Because children’s roles are likened to later subordinate roles and the parental power position is similar to management, adult views of the management–subordinate relationship are often influenced by how power was used in the family unit and the often unacknowledged impact of gender on power in family dynamics. A positive or negative familial power experience may greatly affect a person’s ability to deal with power systems in adulthood.
Gender and Power
Successful leaders are attentive to the influence of gender on power. Knudson-Martin (2013) suggests that an underlying assumption of couples therapy is that intimate relationships should mutually support each partner, and although virtually no couples disagree with this assumption at the time of counseling, few couples attain this ideal with most power imbalances being related to gender. Knudson-Martin suggests that male power typically does not come from outright acts of domination but from an unacknowledged preeminence of men’s priorities, needs, and desires in ways that seem ordinary or natural. In addition, women often contribute to this power imbalance by being far more accommodating and submissive than their male partners.
Some of the reluctance of women to embrace power in relationships can be explained by their socialization to the female role. Some women, in particular, may hold negative connotations of power and never learn to use power constructively. Indeed, women traditionally were expected to demonstrate, at best, ambivalence toward the concept of power and, often times, to openly eschew the pursuit of power. This occurred because many women were socialized to view power differently than men.
As a result, some women view power as dominance versus submission; associated with personal qualities, not accomplishment; and dependent on personal or physical attributes, not skill. Also, some women believe that they do not inherently possess power but instead must rely on others to acquire it. Thus, rather than feeling capable of achieving and managing power, some women feel that power manages them (Huston, 2017). The end result has been that far too many women have remained unskilled in the art of the political process.
However, this historical view of women as less powerful than men is changing. In contemporary society, people are finding new ways for leaders, regardless of gender, to acquire and manage power. These changes are taking place within women, in women’s view of other women holding power, in organizational
hierarchies, and among male subordinates and male colleagues (Huston, 2017). Indeed, skills that have often
been linked to female characteristics such as political skill in developing consensus, inclusion, and
involvement are now viewed as strengths in the corporate world. These attributes are certainly not limited to women, but it is notable that the same attributes that once closed corporate doors and created the barrier popularly called the glass ceiling are now generally welcomed in the boardroom.
“Powerless nurses are ineffective nurses” (Thakore, 2015, para. 1).
LEARNING EXERCISE
13.1
Is Power Different for Men and Women?
R
esearch studies suggest differences in how men and women view power and how others view men and women in positions of authority. Do you think that there are gender differences on how people are viewed as being powerful? Who did you feel was most powerful in your family while growing up? Why do you think that person was powerful? If you are using group work, how many in your group named powerful male figures; how many named powerful female figures? Discuss this in a group and then go to the library or use Internet sources to see if you can find recent studies that support your views.Power and Powerlessness
In determining whether power is desirable, it may be helpful to look at its opposite: powerlessness. Most people agree that they dislike being powerless. Everyone needs to have some control in their life, and when that is not the case, the end result is typically a bossy and rules-oriented individual, desperate to have some degree of power or control. The leader-manager who feels powerless often creates an ineffective, petty, dictatorial, and rule-minded management style. They may become oppressive leaders, punitive and rigid in decision making, or withhold information from others, and they become difficult to work with. This suggests that although the adage that power corrupts might be true for some, it is also likely correct to say that powerlessness holds at least as much potential for corruption.
Power is likely to bring more power in an ascending cycle, whereas powerlessness will only generate more powerlessness.
In contrast, truly powerful individuals know they are powerful and do not need to display this overtly. Instead, their power is evident in the respect and cooperation of their followers. Because the powerful have credibility to support their actions, they have greater capacity to get things accomplished and can enhance their base.
Apparently, then, power has a negative and a positive face. The negative face of power is the “I win, you lose” aspect of dominance versus submission. The positive face of power occurs when someone exerts influence on behalf of—rather than over—someone or something. Power, therefore, is not good or evil; it is how it is used and for what purpose that matters.
Types of Power
For leadership to be effective, some measure of power must often support it. This is true for the informal social group and the formal work group. The Mind Tools Editorial Team (1996–2016) describes French and Raven’s classical work regarding the bases or sources of power: reward power, punishment or coercive power, legitimate power, expert power, and referent power.
Reward power is obtained by the ability to grant favors or reward others with whatever they value. The arsenal of rewards that a manager can dispense to get employees to work toward meeting organizational goals is very broad. Positive leadership through rewards tends to develop a great deal of loyalty and devotion toward leaders.
Punishment or coercive power, the opposite of reward power, is based on fear of punishment if the manager’s expectations are not met. The manager may obtain compliance through threats (often implied) of transfer, layoff, demotion, or dismissal. The manager who shuns or ignores an employee is exercising power through punishment, as is the manager who berates or belittles an employee.
Legitimate power is position power. Authority is also called legitimate power. It is the power gained by a title or official position within an organization. Legitimate power has inherent in it the ability to create feelings of obligation or responsibility. The socialization and culture of subordinate employees will influence to some degree how much power a manager has due to his or her position.
Expert power is gained through knowledge, expertise, or experience. Having critical knowledge allows a manager to gain power over others who need that knowledge. This type of power is limited to a specialized area. For example, someone with vast expertise in music would be powerful only in that area, not in another specialization. When Florence Nightingale used research to quantify the need for nurses in the Crimea (by showing that when nurses were present, fewer soldiers died), she was using her research to demonstrate expertise in the health needs of the wounded.
Referent power is power that a person has because others identify with that leader or with what that leader symbolizes. Referent power also occurs when one gives another person feelings of personal acceptance or approval. It may be obtained through association with the powerful. People may also develop referent power because others perceive them as powerful. This perception could be based on personal charisma, the way the leader talks or acts, the organizations to which he or she belongs, or the people with whom he or she
associates. People who others accept as role models or leaders enjoy referent power. Physicians use referent power very effectively; society, as a whole, views physicians as powerful, and physicians carefully maintain this image.
Although correlated with referent power, charismatic power is distinguished by some from referent power.
Referent power is gained only through association with powerful others, whereas charisma is a more personal type of power.
Another type of power, which is often added to the French and Raven power source is informational power.
This source of power is obtained when people have information that others must have to accomplish their goals. The various sources of power are summarized in Table 13.1.
The Authority–Power Gap
If authority is the right to command, then a logical question is “Why do workers sometimes not follow orders?” Sometimes it is because they believe management does not understand their point of view or that they are insensitive to worker needs. When followers feel that their needs and wants are immaterial and that the person in charge focuses only on his or her own perspective, their innate motivation to be a good follower declines.
Clearly then, the right to command does not ensure that employees will follow orders. The gap that sometimes exists between a position of authority and subordinate response is called the authority–power gap.
The term manager power may explain subordinates’ response to the manager’s authority. The more power subordinates perceive a manager to have, the smaller the gap between the right to expect certain things and the resulting fulfillment of those expectations by others.
The negative effect of a wide authority–power gap is that organizational chaos may develop. There would be little productivity if every order were questioned. The organization should rightfully expect that its goals will be accomplished. One of the core dynamics of civilization is that there will always be a few authority figures pushing the many for a certain standard of performance.
People in the United States are socialized very early to respond to authority figures. In many cases, children are conditioned to accept the directives of their parents, teachers, and community leaders. The traditional nurse-educator has been portrayed as an authoritarian who demands unconditional obedience. Educators who maintain a very narrow authority–power gap reinforce dependency and obedience by emphasizing extreme consequences, including the death of the patient. Thus, nursing students may be socialized to be overly cautious and to hesitate when making independent nursing judgments.
Because of these types of early socialization, the gap between the manager’s authority and the worker’s response to that authority tends to be relatively small. In other countries, it may be larger or smaller, depending on how people are socialized to respond to authority. This authority dependence that begins with our parents and is later transferred to our employers may be an important resource to managers.
Although the authority–power gap continues to be narrow, it has grown in the last 50 years. Both the women’s movement and the student unrest of the 1960s contributed to a widening of the authority–power gap in the United States. This widening gap was evident when a 1970s college student asked her mother why she did not protest as a college student; the mother replied, “I didn’t know I could.”
At times, however, authority should be questioned by either the leader or the subordinates. This is
demonstrated in health care by the increased questioning of the authority of physicians—many of whom feel they have the authority to command—by nurses and consumers. Figure 13.1 shows the dynamics of the relationships in the organizational authority–power response.
Bridging the Authority–Power Gap
DeMers (2015) notes that in order to accomplish anything, an air of mutual trust must be present between managers and employees. This means that managers need to trust their employees, employees need to trust their managers, and employees need to trust each other.
There are many things that can lead to a loss of trust between managers and subordinates. Sometimes, subordinates lose trust when they continually experience visible exercises of authority (these should be used sparingly). Because overusing commands can stifle cooperation, outright naked commands should be used only infrequently. In addition, Overland (2015) notes that managers need to be careful not to belittle, ignore, or avoid conversations with subordinates who seem disillusioned with their leader. They need direction and support to help them move forward and to reestablish a more appropriate authority–power gap. The manager will have bridged the authority–power gap if followers (a) perceive that the manager is doing a good job, (b) believe that the organization has their best interests in mind, and (c) do not feel controlled by authority.
LEARNING EXERCISE
13.2
Power and Authority
T
hink back to your childhood. Did you grow up with a very narrow authority–power gap? Have your views regarding authority and power changed since you were a child? Do you believe that children today have an authority–power gap similar to what you had as a child? Support your answers with examples.Overt displays of authority should be used as a last resort.
One way for the leader to bridge the gap is to make a genuine effort to know and care about each subordinate as a unique individual. This is especially important because each person has a limited tolerance of authority, and subordinates are better able to tolerate authority if they believe that the leader cares about them as individuals. Bradberry (2015) notes that more than half of people who leave their jobs do so because of their relationship with their boss. Managers who celebrate worker’s achievements and empathize with those going through hard times are more likely to be perceivable as deserving of employee trust.
In addition, the manager needs to provide enough information about organizational and unit goals to subordinates for them to understand how their efforts and those of their manager are contributing to goal attainment. Clear agreements and a detailed description of targets help learners visualize a positive outcome (Overland, 2015). Managers must show employees what a good job looks like and use examples and templates to keep people on the right track (Overland, 2015).
Finally, the manager must be seen as credible for the authority–power gap not to widen. All managers begin their appointment with subordinates ready to believe them. This, again, is due to the socialization process that causes people to believe that those in power say what is true. However, the deference to authority will erode if managers handle employees carelessly, are dishonest, or seem incapable of carrying out their duties. DeMers (2015) notes managers must allow their employees to express their opinions and air their concerns freely without fear of penalty. In addition, managers should admit when they have made a mistake and their motivations should be transparent. When a manager loses credibility, the power inherent in his or her authority decreases. It is important then for those in power to answer followers honestly when they do not have all the answers.
Another dimension of credibility that influences the authority–power relationship is future promising. It is best to underpromise if promises must be made. Bradberry (2015) notes that making promises to people places you on a fine line between making them very happy and watching them walk out the door. Upholding commitments makes a manager trustworthy and honorable; not doing so comes across as uncaring and disrespectful.
Managers should never guarantee future rewards unless they have control of all possible variables. If managers revoke future rewards, they lose credibility in the eyes of their subordinates. However, managers should dispense present rewards to buy patronage, making the manager more believable and building greater
power into his or her legitimate authority. A scenario that illustrates the difference in dispensing future and present awards follows.
LEARNING EXERCISE
13.3
Authority–Power Gap in the Student Role
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ou are a senior nursing student completing your final leadership practicum. Your assignment today is to assume leadership of a small team composed of the RN, one licensed vocational nurse/licensed practical nurse (LVN/LPN), and one certified nursing assistant (CNA). The RN preceptor has agreed to let you take on this leadership role in her place, although she will shadow your efforts and provide support throughout the day.Almost immediately after handoff report, a patient puts on the call light and tells you that she needs to have her sheets changed as she was incontinent in the bed. Because you are just beginning your 8 AM med pass and are already behind, you ask the CNA if she has time to do this task. She immediately responds,
“I’m busy and you’re the student. Do it yourself! It would be a good learning experience for you.” When you try to explain your leadership role for the day, she walks away, saying that she does not have time anyway.
A few minutes after that, a physician enters the unit. He wants to talk to the nurse about his patient.
When you inform him that you are the student nurse caring for his patient that day, he responds, “No—I want to talk to the real nurse.”
You feel frustrated with this emerging authority–power gap and seek out the RN to formulate a plan to make this gap smaller.
A S S I G N M E N T:
Identify at least four strategies you might use to reduce the size of this authority–power gap.
Would you involve the RN in your plan? Do you anticipate having similar authority–power gaps in the new graduate role?
A registered nurse (RN) requests a day off to attend a wedding, and you are able to replace her. You use the power of your position to reward her and give her the day off. The RN is grateful to you, and this increases your power. Another RN requests 3 months in advance to have every Thursday off in the summer to take a class. Although you promise this to her, on the first day of June, three nurses resign, rendering you unable to fulfill your promise. This nurse is very upset, and you have lost much credibility and, therefore, power. It would have been wiser for you to say that you could not grant her original request (underpromising) or to make it contingent on several factors. If the situation had remained the same and the nurses had not resigned, you could have granted the request. Less trust is lost between the manager and the subordinate when
underpromising occurs than when a granted request is rescinded, as long as the subordinate believes that the manager will make a genuine effort to meet his or her request.
Empowering Subordinates
The empowerment of staff is a hallmark of transformational leadership. To empower means to enable, develop, or allow. Empowerment, as discussed in Chapter 2, can be defined as decentralization of power.
Empowerment occurs when leaders communicate their vision; employees are given the opportunity to make the most of their talents; and learning, creativity, and exploration are encouraged. Empowerment plants seeds of leadership, collegiality, self-respect, and professionalism. For example, “professional practice models, shared governance models, and collaborative governance all use similar processes to increase nurses’
participation in decision making, thereby increasing their control over the context of nursing practice and promoting power” (Thakore, 2015, para. 7).