Mgt. 667 – Leadership Week 6 Rex Mitchell Spring 2006

Instrument 4, Attitudes re Power & Politics Tally responses by question Discuss items with wide spread or strong shift to one end

Basic Power & Leadership Concepts

Engaging with Readings What are my reactions to this: thoughts, feelings? What do I agree with, like, want to remember and use? Why? What do I disagree with, wish were different, would change, would expand on...? Why? What connections & expansions can I make from my experience?

Power: potential ability to influence behavior, events …get people to do things they would not do otherwise Influence, politics: processes & actions through which potential power is used Leadership: art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations

Sources of Power Formal authority & reputation Resources System connections & positioning ExpertisePersonal

Theory of Power 1.In the absence of a leader or one exercising power, individuals will compete to assume power 2.Power is exercised by individuals, not groups, and is invariably personal 3.To be effective and lasting, power must be based on a set of ideas and a body of common knowledge

Theory of Power (cont.) 4.Power is exercised through organizations, and the exercise is legitimated and constrained by the organization’s common knowledge 5.Power actions occur in a context that includes various stakeholders and audiences

Three Propositions I Believe Power is necessary and is neither good nor bad inherently Influence is a form of power that tends to reduce the potential for negative effects Power and love are not a dichotomy

First Notes from Pfeffer Book Notes are brief, so you have to think about the concepts & expand on the notes However, the notes have important points Re Preface & ch. 1, Decisions & Implementation: –Reactions, thoughts, feelings? –Agree with, like, want to remember & use? –Disagree with, dislike, would change? –Connections & expansions from my experience?

Let’s also discuss: Ambivalence re power (Pfeffer p.8-14) Importance of implementation, especially considering stakeholders and political realities (p. 19, 29-30)

Stakeholder Analysis What is a stakeholder? Need to be selective, consider MAJOR stakeholders Typical stakeholder analysis: – –Identify topic for analysis – –Identify major stakeholders for this topic – –Determine degree of support or opposition – –Assess balance of support – –If not sufficient, work on changing Decrease larger opposing forces…HOW? Increase supporting forces

How to Decrease Opposing Forces Find out stakeholders' reasons for opposition, plus what is important to them Try to convince them of the advantages of the change, framed in ways that address important concerns for them "Horse-trading" Modify your plan to accommodate some of the objections and interests Involve third-parties who have credibility, influence, &/or power over stakeholders (Occasionally) try to intimidate them or get them moved elsewhere Involve key stakeholders earlier in the decision-making and planning process

Stakeholder Exercise Do a stakeholder analysis for Case 6 (Informal Leader Firing), with the topic of reinstating Mike Henry (should write notes): – –Identify the major stakeholders (individuals and groups) – –Infer their likely positions and concerns regarding the topic above – –Estimate the balance of support (i.e., relative strength of support for and against reinstating Henry) – –What could be done to shift this balance of support in either direction?

Basic Power & Leadership Concepts (cont.) See Pfeffer book notes, ch. 2 Your reactions? AgreeDisagreeExtend In groups, discuss: (p.38) power is used more frequently under conditions of moderate interdependence

Pfeffer ch.3 Diagnosing power & dependence Note connections with stakeholder analysis Agrees?Disagrees?Extensions?

Ex.2: Indicators of Power In groups, take turns identifying some indicators of power in your organizations Note similarities and differences Brief reports back to class

Leadership is not an affair of the head. Leadership is an affair of the heart.

Next time Instrument 5 in advance Pfeffer ch. 4-9 –Use my five sources of power as basis –Use notes to help focus Framing piece on Web