3. DIMENSIONS OF LEADERSHIP
Style (authoritarian, democratic, laisser-faire).
Five bases of power were identified by French and
Raven in 1960: coercive, legitimate, reward,
referent, expert.
Source:
http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Int-Loc/Leadership-Styles-and-Bases-of-Power.html#ixzz203naLa1T
4. POWER VS. LEADERSHIP
Power is related to, but different from, leadership.
Power is defined as the potential or capacity
to influence others; that is, to affect others’ beliefs, attitudes, and
behavior.
Carnegie, D. (1981). How to Win Friends & Influence People. New York: Pocket Books.
5. WHY POWER?
MYTHS REALITIES
Power is goal Power is a means to
accomplish a goal
Power is bad Power is neutral
Powerful people are
ruthless
Powerless people are
ruthless
It is wrong to desire more
power
Acquisition of power to
achieve goals reduces stress
and frustration
Power must be earned or
assumed
Adapted from UNC
8. IMPORTANCE OF
REFERENT POWER
• Coercive power relies on the fact that people fear you.
• Reward power is only effective so long as people value the
rewards you have to offer.
• Legitimate power relies on your rank in the company
hierarchy, and that can change quickly for any level of
management.
• Expert power lasts as long as no one else knows as much as
you do.
• Referent power is the only source that seems maintainable.
Paul Argenti, 2002
9. WHAT IS REFERENT POWER ?
Referent power refers to the ability of a leader to
influence a follower because of the follower's
loyalty, respect, friendship, admiration, affection, or
a desire to gain approval.
French, J., & Raven, B. The bases of social power. Studies in social power (1959).
10. WHAT IS REFERENT POWER?
Referent power derives from employees' respect for a manager
and their desire to identify with or emulate him or her. In
referent power, the manager leads by example.
Referent power rests heavily on trust.
In referent power [followers] use what they presume [the leader]
would do in a given situation as a point of reference.
David A. Victor
11. WHAT IS REFERENT POWER?
Referent power is the power that arises because of
a person’s desirable resources or personal traits.
Robbins & Coulter (2008) Management, 10th edition
12. HOW DOES REFERENT LEADERSHIP WORK?
The most common follower response to referent
power is commitment.
Commitment means that workers share the leader's
point of view and enthusiastically carry out
instructions.
Commitment helps followers overcome fear of
change, and it is especially important in situations
of frequent changes.
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Leadership-Defined.topicArticleId-8944,articleId-8913.html
13. EMPOWERMENT AND
REFERENT LEADERSHIP
The concept of empowerment in large part rests on
referent power.
David A. Victor
Empowerment is insuring [individuals and families] closest to a
problem or need have the authority to make judgments on
how the problem is solved or the need met.
Chip R. Bell and Bilijack R. Bell (2003) Magnetic Service: Secrets for Creating Passionately Devoted Customers
14. REFERENT POWER AND CULTURE
Referent power requires understanding the
cultural ways in which employees identify
with their superiors.
15. REFERENT POWER AND CULTURE
In the USA, identification with one's superior in
the United States is hampered by symbols of
legitimate power (for example, titles or dress).
Those who advocate referent leadership
encourage managers to use terms such as
"facilitator" and "coach" coupled with
"associates" and "group members" rather than
"boss" and "subordinates."
David A. Victor
16. REFERENT POWER AND CULTURE
Power distance is the degree to which members of a
culture feel comfortable with inequalities in power within
an organization; that is, the extent to which one's boss is
seen as having greater power than oneself.
http://www.geert-hofstede.com
17. REFERENT LEADERSHIP
Works best with democratic leadership style, although
authoritarian and laisser-faire may apply as well.
19. CHARACTERISTICS OF A
REFERENT LEADER
Referent power is gained by a leader who has strong interpersonal
relationship skills.
Ways for a leader to acquire and maintain referent power:
Show acceptance and positive regard.
Act supportively and helpful.
Use sincere forms of ingratiation.
Defend and back up people when appropriate.
Do unsolicited favors.
Make self-sacrifices to show concern.
Keep promises.
Gary A. Yukl (2002) Leadership in Organizations
20. ALIGNING VALUES WITH
POWER BASE
So in everything, do to others what you would have
them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the
Prophets.
Matthew 7:12 (NIV)
…as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but
eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to
you, but being examples to the flock.
1 Peter 5:2-3 (NIV).
21. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Referent power may take considerable time to develop and thus may
not prove particularly effective in a workforce with a rapid turnover of
personnel.
Those with referent power can also use it for coercion.
One thing people fear most is social exclusion, and all it takes is
a word from a social leader to cause a widespread shunning by others in
a group.
Referent power in itself is not enough. When combined with expertise, it
will likely have lasting effects.
www.mindtools.com. "French and Raven's Five Forms of Power".
22. REFERENT LEADERSHIP!!
“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I
cannot; together we can do great things.”
Mother Teresa
Dimensions of leadership
Why power
Types of power
Referent leadership defined
Referent leadership applied
Who does not want to be desirable?
Make no mistake, we are all defined by our relationships with others.
Commitment is preferred to compliance (legitimate, reward) or resistance (authoritarian).
Like and be liked back (USA)
Respect and be respected back (some African cultures).
In some African cultures, power distance is generally obvious between genders, age groups or social classes (tribes).
Power distance applies more consistently in referent leadership than in expert leadership, the other most desirable form of power base.
Democratic leadership style involves listening to the opinions of the followers. A referent leader is more likely to be a democratic leader, because to make people want to emulate you implies that you make them feel listened to, feel valued.
Jesus teaches that referent power is the basis for influencing others.
