Power, politics and leadership

Power, Politics and Leadership
POLITICS OF EDUCATION ( MEM 518)
Mindanao University of Science and Technology
Lecturer: Enrique S. Guevarra , MEd

Learning Objectives
After studying these topics and doing the exercises , you should be able to
Recognize the various types of power
Identify tactics used for becoming an empowering leader
Know how to use delegation to support empowerment.
Pinpoint factors contributing to organizational politics.
Describe both ethical and unethical political behaviors.
Explain how a leader can control dysfunctional politics.
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Sources and Types of Power
3

Position Power
Personal Power
Power Stemming from Ownership
Power Stemming from Providing Resources
Power Derived from Capitalizing on opportunity.
Power Stemming from Managing Critical Problems
Power Stemming from Being Close to Power
4

Position Power
Power is frequently classified according to whether its stems from the organization or the individual
5

Four bases of power :
Legitimate Power - the lawful right to make a decision and expect compliance .
Reward Power – the authority to give employees rewards for compliance
Coercive Power is the power to punish non compliance ; it is based on fear.
Information power is power stemming from formal control over the information people need to do their work.
6

Personal Power
This power is derived from the person rather than the organization
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Types of Personal Power
Expert power is the ability to influence others through specialized knowledge , skills or abilities.
Referent power is the ability to influence others through one’s desirable traits and characteristics
Prestige power stems from one’s status and reputation
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Power Stemming from Ownership
Executive leaders accrue power in their capacity as agents acting on behalf of share holders.
The strength of ownership power depends on how closely the leader is linked to shareholders and board members.
A leader’s ownership is also associated with how much money he or she has invested in the firm.
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Power stemming from Providing Resources
The organization requires a continuing flow of human resources, money, customers and clients , technological inputs and materials to continue to function.
10

Power Derived from Capitalizing on Opportunity
Power can be derived from being in the right place and taking the appropriate action.
It pays to be “ where the action is”.
11

Power Stemming from Managing Critical Problems
The strategic contingency theory of power suggests that units best able to cope with the firm’s critical problems and uncertainties acquire relatively large amounts of power.
The Strategic contingency theory concerns the power a person acquires by virtue of centrality.
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Power Stemming from Being Close to Power
The closer a person is to power , the greater power he or she exerts.
The higher unit reports in a firm’s hierarchy , the more power it possesses.
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Tactics for Becoming an Empowering Leader
14

The Nature of Empowerment
Empowerment refers to passing decision making authority and responsibility from managers to group members
15

Components of Empowerment ( Gretchen M. Spreitzer)
Meaning – the value of work goal , evaluated in relation to a person’s ideals or standards.
Competence or self-efficacy is an individual’s belief in his or her capability to perform a particular task well.
Self-determination – is an individual’s feeling of having a choice in initiating and regulating actions.
Impact is the degree to which the worker can influence strategic, administrative or operating outcomes on the job.
Internal commitment takes place when workers are committed to a particular project , person or program, for individual motives.
16

Empowering Practices
Foster Initiative and Responsibility
Link Work Activities to Organizational Goals
Provide Ample Information
Allow Group Members to Choose Methods.
Encourage Self-leadership
Implement Team-based Human Resource Policies
Establish Limits to Empowerment
Continue to Lead
17

Effective Empowering Practices
LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
Foster Initiative and Responsibility
Link Work Activities to Organizational Goals
Provide Ample Information
Allow Group Members to Choose Methods.
Encourage Self-leadership
Implement Team-based Human Resource Policies
Establish Limits to Empowerment
Continue to Lead
EFFECTIVE EMPOWERMENT
Meaning to work
Competence
Self-efficacy
Impact
Internal commitment
18

Factors contributing to Organizational Politics
19

Organizational politics refers to informal approaches to gain power through means other than merit or luck.
Politics are played to achieve power, either directly or indirectly.
Power may be achieved
By being promoted
By receiving a larger budget or other resources
By obtaining more resources for one’s group
By being exempt from undesirable assignments.
Researchers concluded that “ Political skill is an interpersonal style that combines social awareness with the ability to communicate well. ( Ferrez et al 2000)
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Many writers still regard organizational politics as emphasizing self-interest at the expense of others , engaging in mysterious activities or “ kissing up”
“It’s often a question of language. When we won on an issue, we call it leadership. When we lose, we call it politics. Practicing politics simply means increasing your options for effective results ( Labarre 1999)
People want power for many different reasons, which is why political behavior is so widespread in organizations. By definition , politics is used to acquire power.
21

Pyramid-Shaped Organization Structure
A pyramid concentrates power at the top.
Each successive layer on the organization chart has less power than the layer above.
22

Subjective Standards of Performance
People often resort to organizational politics because they do not believe that the organization has an objective and fair way of judging their performance and suitability for promotion.
“It’s not what you know but who you know” applies to organizations that lack clear-cut standards of performance.
23

Environmental Uncertainty and Turbulence
When people operate in an unstable and unpredictable environment , they tend to behave politically.
They rely on organizational politics to create a favorable impression because uncertainty makes it difficult to determine what they should really be accomplishing.
24

Emotional Insecurity
Some people resort to political maneuvers to ingratiate themselves with superiors because they lack confidence in their talents and skills.
25

Machiavellian Tendencies
Some people engage in political behavior because they want to manipulate others, sometimes their own personal advantage.
26

The Organizational Politics Questionnaire
Please refer to the the word format
27

Encouraging Admiration from Subordinates
Most organizational leaders say they do not encourage kissing up and that they prefer honest feedback from subordinates
Managers , as well as other workers, send out subtle signals that they want to be praised, such as smiling after receiving a compliment and frowning when receiving negative feedback.
28

Political Tactics and Strategies
29

Ethical Political Tactics and Strategies
Strategies Aimed at Gaining Power
Develop power contacts
Control Vital information
Stay informed.
Control lines of communication
Bring in outside experts
Make a quick showing
Remember that everyone expects to be paid back
Be the first to accept reasonable changes
30

Strategies and Tactics aimed at
Display loyalty
Manage your impression
Ask satisfied customers to contact your boss.
Be courteous, pleasant and positive.
Ask advice.
Building Relationships
Send thank-you notes to large numbers of people.
Flatter others sensibly
31

Strategies aimed at Political Blunders
Criticizing the boss in a public forum.
Bypassing the boss.
Declining an offer from top management.
Putting your foot in your mouth
Not conforming to the company dress code
32

Unethical Political Tactics and Strategies
Backstabbing
The ubiquitous back stab requires that you pretend to be nice but all the while plan someone’s demise.
Embrace or Demolish
It suggests that you remove from the premises rivals who suffered past hurts through your efforts ; otherwise the wounded rivals might retaliate at a vulnerable moment.
Setting a Person Up for Failure
The object of a set up is to place a person in a position where he or she will either fail outright or look ineffective
Divide and Rule
The object is to have subordinates fight among themselves , thus yielding the balance of power to another person.
33

Unethical Political Tactics and Strategies
Playing Territorial Games
Territorial games involve protecting and hoarding resources that give one power , such as information , relationships and decision making authority.
People arte greedy to survive in a corporate world.
Creating and Then Resolving a False Catastrophe
An advanced devious tactic is for a manager to pretend a catastrophe exists and then proceed to rescue others from the catastrophe , thereby appearing to be a superhero. ( Sandberg 2003)
34

Exercising Control over Dysfunctional Politics
35

Organizational politics can hurt an organization and its members.
Too much politicking can result in wasted time and effort , thereby lowering productivity.
A study of 1,730 employees in four organizations investigated how the perception of political behavior was related to certain outcomes. Among the findings were as follows :
36

Perceptions of political behavior taking place in the work group were associated with less commitment to the organization and a stronger turnover intention with less commitment to the organization and a stronger turnover intention
Perceptions of political behavior taking place throughout the organization were also associated with less commitment to the organization and a stronger turnover intention ( Maslyn and Fedor 1998)
37

How to control dysfunctional politics?
Avoiding favoritism
Setting good examples at the top of the organization.
Sharing of similar goals among the individuals and the organization
Hiring people with integrity
38

SUMMARY
Organizational power is derived from
Position Power
Legitimate
Reward
Coercive
Information
Personal Power
Expert
Reference
Power stems from
Ownership
Control of resources
Capitalizing on opportunities
Managing critical problems
Being close to power
39

SUMMARY
Full-pledged empowerment includes
Dimensions of meaning
Self-determination
Competence
Impact
Internal commitment
Actions taken to become an empowering leader
Foster initiative and responsibility
Link work activities to the goals of the organization
Provide ample information
Allow group members to choose methods.
Encourage self-leadership
Implement team-based human resource policies
Establish limits to empowerment
Continue to lead.
40

SUMMARY
To acquire and retain power , a leader must skillfully use organizational politics. Contributing factors include
Pyramidal shape of organization
Subjective performance standards
Environmental uncertainty
Emotional insecurity
Machiavellianism
Encouraging admiration from subordinates
Political tactics and strategies
Ethical methods
Aimed at gaining power
Aimed at building relationships
Aimed at avoiding political blunders
41

Unethical tactics
Embrace or demolish strategy
Constitute another category of political behavior
42

Reference
Dubrin, A.J. 2007, Leadership : Research Findings , Practice, and Skills Fifth edn, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

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Power, politics and leadership

by guevarra_2000 on Apr 26, 2010

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Power, politics and leadership — Presentation Transcript