Understand Your Power Bases What is power? Power is defined as the ability to transform your intentions into reality.

It is the capacity to influence others to carry out your intentions and make things happen the way you want it to be. Power is interdependent. You will have power over a person if you have control over some thing the person values. If the person does not value the thing under your control, you have no power over a person. For example, a gunman will have a lot of power over you if you value your life. You will do anything he requests so long as you want to be alive. On the other hand, if you do not value your life, the gunman is rendered powerless. You can ask him to go to hell and shoot you. Likewise, the management has a lot of power over you if you value your his job. If you have no fear of losing your job, the management virtually becomes powerless over you. Similarly, a manager will have a lot of power over his subordinate, if he values a reward, e.g. a promotion, a bigger bonus, or a double increment. The manager loses his power if the subordinate does not value these rewards.

The boundaries of the manager power Manager will have some power bases by virtue of his position. The position power bases have its boundaries. Often manager finds it difficult to get his subordinate to get things done due to the limitations of his position power. Therefore it is important for a manager to develop as much power bases as possible other than the position power to be effective and efficient. Sources of Power Legitimate power (Authority) Legitimate power is acquired by virtue of the position of a manager in the organizational hierarchy. The higher the position of a manager the greater will be the position power. Each manager in the hierarchy has his authority limit that spells out the boundaries of his authority to reward and punish his subordinate. In other words, his decisions to punish and reward are bounded by the boundaries of his authority limits.

Social Power (People Power) Social power is derived from people support. The more the number of people in the organization and others in the community supports the manager, the greater will be his social power. An effective manager will have the support of bosses (direct and indirect), peers, subordinates, suppliers and customers. Reward Power (Monetary and non-monetary) Monetary rewards are derived from the position of a manager to give something of value to his subordinates. For example, the degree of decision-making process for pay increment, bonuses, fringe benefits and incentive schemes, retirement benefits and loans depends on the level of manager in the organizational hierarchy. Even then the decision-making process varies from organization to organization. For example, a supervisor can only recommend his subordinate for a 2-month bonus. He submits to the manager who endorses his recommendation before it is forwarded to the top management for approval. Non-monetary rewards (strokes, praises and recognition) are at the discretion of the manager. They have no boundaries as they are free and does not incur any costs to the company. Effective manager knows how to give non-monetary rewards freely as the opportunity and the situation arises. Managers who are stingy with non-monetary rewards often lose their support. Expert Power An effective manager must be a professional expert in his field of endeavor. He must have the following competencies related to his profession. Technical competencies People Competencies Managerial competencies Business competencies

The level of above competencies required varies with the position of the manager and the requirement of the above competencies to perform effectively the duties and responsibilities embodied in their job scope. Each competency requires a set of skills, knowledge and know-how of getting the jobs done. An expert manager can help his subordinates to solve work-related problems and develop their potentials. The above functions are important to command respect and support from your subordinates. If you are a coach and a mentor to your subordinate, you subordinate will do anything for you at your request. Imagine a scenario in as situation where your subordinate does not know how to do a certain aspect of a job and approach you for help. There are 2 ways you can respond to this situation. 1. 2 Do not worry. Let me show you how to do it You are hire to do the job. Do it in any way you like

Let us anticipate the consequences of the above responses on the manager, his subordinate and the organization Anticipated Response of Response 1 - Do not worry. Let me show you how to do it Manager commands respect as a professional expert. Being an expert, subordinate is eager to learn from him and will accept his ideas confidently Subordinate perceives the manager as a mentor and coach and will look up to him to develop his skills. He sees prospects working under this manager and will support him. Subordinate feels great and is motivated to turn to the manager to solve his work-related problems. Organization: Increased productivity and work quality as more and more employees acquired expertise

 Save operational costs due to less errors, material wastage, machine damage and reduction of rejects Increased profit

Anticipated consequences of Response 2 You are hired to do the job. Do it in anyway you like Manager loses respect from his subordinate. His subordinate perceives that the manager is not qualified to be his boss Subordinate will not turn to the boss for work related problems. He will experiment with the job by trial and errors and learn from mistakes Subordinate may become hostile when the manager reprimands him for making mistakes. He feels that it is not his fault and become frustrated for having a boss who cannot coach him in his work-related problems. Morale and motivation dampens as he gets himself all stressed up. Organization: Productivity adversely affected Quality work is not ensured Operation costs increased due to errors, material wastage, machine damage and high rate of rejects Thus, manager must see learning as a continuous process updating his knowledge, skills and expertise in his professional field to manage effectively. Referent Power Referent power is the charisma of a manager developed over time when he becomes the source of referent for assistance and support. Whenever his subordinates needed help to resolve their work related and personal problems they would refer to him. Referent power is build upon the capacity of the manager to counsel, guide and give good advice. It is a very powerful source of influence to get the subordinates to get things done. Coercive Power Coercive power is the use of force and pressure to get the subordinates to do their job. This power is evident when the manager uses threats and intimidation to instill subordinates fear of reprisal in shirking their duties and responsibilities. Coercive power is a negative power base and should be used as a last resort to get problem employees to produce results.