Power and Decision-Making
Does Legitimate Power Matter in Decision-Making?
There are different types of power that one can possess: reward power, coercive power, referent power, and expert power. In the act of assuming control it is likely that any one of these types of power could be used. It is likely going to depend on what the team or followers of the leader are looking for. If someone is looking for a promotion and the leader has reward power, it is likely the leader could take control of the situation within the organization if they have the power to promote the individual. If the team is working on a project that requires knowledge on a certain subject, one could more easily gain control if the exhibit expert power and is the individual that holds the coveted knowledge (Power & Influence, 2018).
Leaders that exhibit higher morals or standards are going to be less likely to take on a defensive attitude about organizational problems and by exhibiting these higher standards they are gaining more control. If a leader is able to show confidence and acknowledge their personal limitations, they are more likely to be accepted within the organization and to start building relationships within the teams. When making decisions leaders who can acknowledge their own limitations are able to take that into consideration when making decisions for the team or organization (Elimabo NO, 2015).
Confidence is important when gaining control of a situation and if a leader is able to exhibit confidence they can use that in their decision-making process to gain trust from the others involves. When a leader can gain trust, they are likely to be able to gain control of the situation at hand. A leader needs to be able to gain sense of what people are doing and give the process a meaning or a purpose (Elimano NO, 2015).
References:
Ejimabo NO (2015) The Influence of Decision Making in Organizational Leadership and Management Activities. J Entrepren Organiz Manag 4:138. doi: 10.4172/2169-026X.1000138
Power & Influence. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.leadership-development-tips.com/power-and-influence.html
