How to become more effective and influential leader by increasing your personal and positional power

1. IMPROVING YOUR
LEADERSHIP INFLUENCE
SAMUEL TENGEY, PHD

2. Overview
Several people rise to leadership and expect to become
effective
Many adopt strategies to become effective, including image
and reputation building projects
But when image, reputation and character do not agree,
things fall apart; followers become disillusioned, leader
disappointed
What then is the way to becoming effective: improving
leadership influence by improving personal and positional
power

3. Objective
By participating in this seminar, you will be able to:
Explain leadership influence and power
Differentiate personal power and positional power
Explain three types of personal power and positional
power
Outline the steps to improving your leadership
influence and power

4. Outline
Influence, power and leadership effectiveness
Image, reputation, character and integrity
Power – meaning and application
Improving Personal Power
 Expert
 Referent
 Relational
Improving Positional Power
 Legitimate
 Reward
 coercive

5. Introduction
A surge in image and reputation building agenda –
increased use of public relations gimmicks
Integrating image, reputation and character
What is required for increasing leadership influence
is power: (i) your people shall be willing in the days
of your power…Psalm 110:3; …(ii) for children
have come to birth, and there is no strength to
deliver (Isaiah 37:3).
Power is crucial to your success as a leader

6. Power – meaning and application
The ability or capacity to:
1. do something or get something done
2. influence the behaviour and actions of others
Application: powerful people are able to get things
done through others.
Implication: When a leader is unable to get things
done through other, the leader’s power is brought to
question; they likely need to improve their power.

7. Personal and positional power
Personal power –
 wielded even without a position;
 determined by how much value you deliver to others
 sticks to you even when you no longer have position;
 you carry it with you to every position you occupy;
 you cultivate it with definite effort
Positional power
 Comes automatically by virtue of your position
 Related to your specific role
 But needs to be practicsed to become part of you

8. Power - classification
Personal Power
 Expert
 Referent
 Relational
Positional Power
 Legitimate
 Reward
 Coercive

9. Personal Power – Referent
Power gained from admiration by followers due to a
leader’s strong character, personality, attitude
Allows followers to see the leader as role model –
minimal flaws in the leader (if any)
Comes through integrity – the leader’s public image,
reputation and character (who they are at the core)
are in complete agreement - credibility
Leader’s unquestionable character and admired
discipline

10. Personal Power – Expert
The power a leader wields by displaying expert
knowledge in area of specialisation.
Displaying exceptional knowledge, understanding
and skills in one’s area of operations
Demonstration of exceptional competence Prov
22: 29; 2 Tim 2: 15
Calls for commitment to continuous learning and
development, attention to details, commitment to
excellence

11. Personal Power - Expert
Knowledge – be ready to learn, unlearn and
relearn
Skills – constantly acquire the how to’s of what you
do
Attributes of innovativeness, creativity (KSAs) –look
for new, better ways of doing familiar things, and
explore new things altogether
Competencies

12. Positional power - Legitimate
The power due you by virtue of your position
You are ascribed legitimate power due to your
position
Respect linked to positional power is very formal,
structured, cosmetic, and short-lived
Respect for you will be tested and challenged
Use legitimate power to address problems that only
you are empowered and authorised to address –
which if you fail, can constitute a roadblock to others
You lose respect when you fail to take due advantage
of your legitimate power for the improvement of the
common good

13. Positional power - Reward
Ability to motivate others to perform
Ability and readiness to recognise good
performance
Ability to consistently reward good performance
Ability to use tangible rewards
Ability to use non-tangible rewards
Maslow needs hierarchy
Hertzberg’s two factor theory of motivation

14. Positional power - Coercion
Ability to apply force and punishment and sanctions
to ensure others comply with requirements
Apply consistently, fairly and firmly
Use as last resort

15. Personal power - Relational
Respect
Empathy
Sympathy and genuine care to help
Appreciation, recognition and celebration of
people
Making others feel valuable
Patient with others

16. Conclusion
Followers are looking for authenticity, honesty,
competence, credibility, and someone they can trust
and, whose word they can rely on.
Cosmetic image building is unnecessary; how you
lead (good or bad) creates an image for you. The
most enduring source of influence is personal, not
positional power
Positional power gives you authorisation to address
issues – take advantage of it.
The realm of leadership is a school of unending,
lifelong learning, growth and development