
The five bases of power:
- Legitimate — arises from the belief that a person has the formal right to make demands, and to expect others to be compliant and obedient.
- Reward — This results from one person’s ability to compensate another for compliance.
- Expert — Based on a person’s high levels of skill and knowledge.
- Referent —The result of a person’s perceived attractiveness, worthiness and right to others’ respect.
- Legitimate.
- Reward.
- Expert.
- Referent.
- Coercive.
What are the six sources of power?
- Reward: Giving people what they want
- Coercion: Using fear to control others
- Information: When we we know something others don’t
- Legitimate: Power that derives from mutually agreed upon roles, such as the power of a CEO
- Expert: Power that comes from the possession of skills or expertise, such as the IT expert at a small firm
What are the five power bases of leadership?
The five bases of power:
- Legitimate — arises from the belief that a person has the formal right to make demands, and to expect others to be compliant and obedient.
- Reward — This results from one person’s ability to compensate another for compliance.
- Expert — Based on a person’s high levels of skill and knowledge.
What are the top ten super powers?
Top Ten Best Superpowers
- You could rip the fabric of reality apart and destroy everything that ever existed if done wrong.
- It has a VERY high chance of failing. Example: You try and pick up a building with your mind, but then it falls on you and kills you.
- Telekinesis is too unbalanced. Flying is probably the best solution. Now, many of these superpowers could break the fabric of reality. Like, super speed? Nope. ...
What does the base power do?
Bases of power refer to what power-holders control that allow them to manipulate the behavior of others. These are; Reward power-power based on different distribution of rewards that others view as valuable. Legitimate power- the power a person receive as a result of his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization, (for a ...

What are the 6 power bases?
It suggests that people's power takes six different forms:1) Legitimate Power. Legitimate power is the authority to command, based on position. ... 2) Reward Power. Reward power is the ability to award positive, desired outcomes. ... 3) Referent Power. ... 4) Expert Power. ... 5) Informational Power. ... 6) Coercive Power.
How many bases of power are there?
French and Raven identified five bases of power: coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent.
What are the seven power bases?
7 Types of Power in LeadershipPower in leadership helps teams reach greater levels of performance. ... Legitimate Power. ... Coercive Power. ... Expert Power. ... Informational Power. ... Power of Reward. ... Connection Power. ... Referent Power.
What are the 4 types of power?
Questioning Four Types of PowerExpert: power derived from knowledge or skill.Referent: power derived from a sense of identification others feel toward you.Reward: power derived from an ability to reward others.Coercive: power derived from fear of punishment by others.More items...
What are the 5 bases of power?
In 1959, social psychologists John French and Bertram Raven identified five bases of power:Legitimate.Reward.Expert.Referent.Coercive.
What is the most powerful power base?
If the three bases of formal power (coercive, rewards, legitimate) and two bases of personal power (expert, referent), which is most important to have? Interestingly, research suggests pretty clearly that the personal sources of power are most effective.
What is the most abuse bases of power?
Coercive Power is often the least effective but most employed (and abused) type of power in the corporate world. Coercive Power is forcing someone to do something against their will or setting up “consequences” to employee actions.
What are the 8 types of power?
No matter how they run a team, each leader exhibits at least one of these types of leadership power.Legitimate Power. ... Referent Power. ... Information Power. ... Expert Power. ... Reward Power. ... Coercive Power. ... Charismatic Power. ... Moral Power.
What is true power in life?
True power comes alive when you love what you do; when what you do aligns with your values and you follow your intuition and creativity. The more time we spend doing in these spaces, the more we are true to who we are. In true power, you are easily focused. You are motivated, disciplined.
What are the five 5 types of power explain each type?
The 5 Types of Power in Leadership are Coercive power, expert power, legitimate power, referent power, and reward power. Later on, they added one more power called informational power to the list. Authority is the right to command and extract obedience from others.
What are the three types of power?
Power has been an important aspect of human civilization since time immemorial. Power might be physical, political or social.
What are examples of power?
Power is defined as the ability to act or have influence over others. An example of power is the strength needed to run five miles. An example of power is the authority a local government has to collect taxes.
What is the most abuse bases of power?
Coercive Power is often the least effective but most employed (and abused) type of power in the corporate world. Coercive Power is forcing someone to do something against their will or setting up “consequences” to employee actions.
How many types of power do we have?
The 5 Types of Power Summary Coercive power. Reward power. Legitimate power. Expert power.
What's a power base?
Britannica Dictionary definition of POWER BASE. [count] : the area or group of people that provides the main support for a particular political candidate. Both candidates are doing whatever they can to raise money from their power bases. Most of her power base is in the city.
What are the five 5 types of power explain each type?
The 5 Types of Power in Leadership are Coercive power, expert power, legitimate power, referent power, and reward power. Later on, they added one more power called informational power to the list. Authority is the right to command and extract obedience from others.
What are the bases of power?
The five bases of power: 1 Legitimate — arises from the belief that a person has the formal right to make demands, and to expect others to be compliant and obedient. 2 Reward — This results from one person’s ability to compensate another for compliance. 3 Expert — Based on a person’s high levels of skill and knowledge. 4 Referent —The result of a person’s perceived attractiveness, worthiness and right to others’ respect. 5 Coercive — This comes from the belief that a person can punish others for noncompliance.
Who discovered the 5 bases of power?
This was explored in 1959 by French and Raven who described five bases of power. By understanding these different forms of power, you can learn to use the positive ones to full effect, while avoiding the negative power bases that managers can instinctively rely on. Also. The five bases of power:
Does power depend on the leader?
Power does not depend only on the leader ; it depends also on the perceptions that the followers have of the leader. The taking and giving of power stems from a relationship between leader and follower, and how the followers perceive the leader. In the book “ 7 Rules for Positive, Productive Change “ Esther Derby writes:
What is the final base of power?
The final base of power is coercive power. Coercive power is the opposite of reward power. Coercive power is influencing others to behave a certain way through fear or the loss of sought after items or outcomes (PSU W.C. L7). The law is a big example of coercive power. If you break a law, such as stealing, you will be arrested and ...
What is referent power?
Referent power focuses on the leader and the subordinates. If a leader is considered to have referent power, he/she would be considered to be a role model (PSU W.C. L7). An example of a leader who has referent power is Oprah. While she holds no real public office, there are scores of individuals who look up to her as a role model and her influence is very far reaching.
When does a leader exercise reward power?
A leader exercises reward power when they use their control of desired resources to influence their followers (PSU W.C. L7). When a mother tells her child that if he is good at the doctor, she will take him to get ice cream, she is exercising reward power. The final base of power is coercive power.
Can a leader have multiple types of power?
A leader can employ different bases of power at different times. He/she can even use multiple types of power at one time. The idea of power and influence can often be very complex.
Is Barack Obama a leader?
Barack Obama is a great example of a leader with legitimate power. The citizen’s of the US vote the president into power, and the the US government ratifies this power. Then in a formal ceremony, the Inauguration, the president accepts the award of power. Reward power involves the leader, followers, and the situation.
What is the basis of power?
Another basis of power we are considering is Coercive power. It uses the threat of force to gain compliance and obedience from the followers. The main idea behind this is getting people to do things irrespective of their opinions. The main goal is compliance. This idea is power-based. In some terms, it is regarded as Punishment power because it involves force, threat, or punishment to attain its goal.
Who identified the 5 bases of power?
There were first the five (5) bases which were identified and analyzed by social psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram Raven in 1959, and six (6) years later, Bertram Raven added the sixth (6th) base. Bases of power can be categorized into two power sources which are: Positional Power Sources and Personal Power Sources.
What is referent power?
Referent power has been over the years the best basis of power that a leader should adopt because it’s all about the quality of the relationship developed with others and how the relationship is built. This type of power results from a person’s perceived attractiveness, worthiness, and right to others’ respect.
What is informational power?
Informational Power: This is a short-term power that doesn’t necessarily build influence or credibility. It involves having control over vital information that others need or want. In this modern age, we are at right now where information is vital can place the one who has it in a position of power.
What is the power of a leader?
This power is based on the leader’s ability to provide rewards to motivate their followers. It is a reward for someone’s ability to comply with the organization’s rules and regulations and achieve something meaningful through that. In this type of power, the leader can give out rewards (Tangible or psychological). Tangible rewards could include promotion, office space, time off from work, a hike in salaries, and incentives. Psychological rewards could include help to such individuals, praise, recommendations, and recognition.
Why is referent power abused?
Although, referent power can be easily abused because, in most cases, you don’t do anything to earn it. Someone likable by everyone may lack integrity and loyalty.
What is the meaning of "legitimate power"?
1. Legitimate Power: This is a given power or trust in the followers or employees that the leader or the manager can make the right call or decisions. It comes from an elected, selected, or appointed position of power.
What are the next two power bases?
The next two power bases (referent and expert) are more personal. They stay with the leader irrespective of the organization. Hence are also easily transferable.
Why is it important to develop a personal power base?
It is always more valuable to help your client develop their personal power bases so they can have the largest impact on their co-workers and teams irrespective of which organization they work for.
What is referent power?
Referent power is a leader’s ability to lead with trust and by example. If the leader is perceived to be respected, and attractive by his employees, he is considered to have a high degree of referent power.
What is the ability of a leader to yield power?
This is a leader’s ability to yield power by compensating their employees for compliance. Leaders in this case control a desired outcome for their employee. Such as recognition, extra holidays, a bonus or a promotion.
What is the power of a leader?
A leader who has control over critical information that others need, is said to possess informational power. The offer to share it or the potential threat to withhold that information gives a leader power.
Why does expert power diminish?
Expert power diminishes as a leader starts sharing their knowledge with their employees. Fearing this, leaders sometimes intentionally choose not to share their knowledge base with employees.
Where does the ultimate source of power come from?
A leader’s ultimate source of power comes from how effectively they are able to influence their team. By the end of this reflective conversation on power, you want your client to leave with a few development areas that increase their effectiveness as a leader.
What are the bases of power?
The Bases of Power 1 Coercive: here power comes from one’s ability to punish someone else for noncompliance, for example, through fear of losing their job or their annual bonus. 2 Reward: here power comes from one’s ability to issue rewards, for example, through a bonus or allowing time off in lieu. 3 Legitimate: here power comes from a person’s formal right to issue directives or commands because of their position in the organization, for example, the CEO has the right to dictate the strategy. 4 Expert: here power comes from one’s experience or knowledge, for example, a senior surgeon displays the expert knowledge for subordinates to trust them. 5 Referent: here power comes from being trusted or respected, for example, the boss who treats everyone fairly and with respect.
Who identified the five underlying bases of power?
In 1959, two social psychologists, John R. P. French and Bertram Raven identified five underlying bases of power, as follows:
How does coercive power work?
Coercive power only works when you have visibility of what the person under your power is doing (surveillance). With people who consistently fail to meet the requirements of their role, you may need to wield coercive power, for example, when you put them onto a capability process.
Why is coercive power not useful?
Otherwise, using coercive power is rarely useful in a professional environment as it creates resentment and can lead to accusations of bullying.
What is the power of coercive power?
You use coercive power when you threaten that people will be punished in order to gain compliance, such as threatening that they will be fired or demoted unless they hit their objectives. Coercive power only works when you have visibility of what the person under your power is doing (surveillance).
What is reward power?
2. Reward Power. You use reward power when you use rewards to achieve compliance with your wishes. Examples of rewards include bonuses, pay increases, days off in lieu, training opportunities, or even simply a public compliment or thank you.
How many types of power did French and Raven describe?
French and Raven described 5 types of power, sometimes referred to as the 5 bases of social power. Each is described briefly below and then in more detail later.
How many bases of power are there?
One way to answer this question is to use the bases of power theory by French and Raven. These psychologists proposed the existence of six bases of power—coercive power, reward power, legitimate power, expert power, referent power, and informational power.
How does knowing the power bases help us?
Knowing about the bases of power can help us overcome powerlessness and become more empowered. We need to remember social power exists in relation to others.
What is referent power?
Referent power (5) The fifth base of power is called referent power . Those who are likable and charismatic have referent power because people want to associate with them. Mr. Trump’s level of referent power, then, depends on the degree to which Americans admire him, feel (or desire) a connection to him, and are devoted and loyal to him.
What is social power?
Social power is defined as having the ability or potential to exert social influence. For example, Keltner and colleagues define social power as “an individual’s relative capacity to modify others’ states by providing or withholding resources or administering punishments” (p. 265).
What is informational power?
Informational power is related to persuasion. If the information one provides is persuasive, then he or she has informational power.
What is the power of coercion?
Coercive power refers to the use of punishment to shape behavior—to decrease unwanted behaviors or to increase the desired ones. Coercive power is more often used by individuals who are or feel powerless or not as powerful as usual in a particular situation.
What is the third base of power?
The third base of power, called legitimate power , is more complex and refers to the legitimacy of the powerful person’s influence. In short, does the individual have the right to influence another?
What is expert power?
Expert Power- This is a personal kind of power which owes its genesis to the skills and expertise possessed by an individual, which is of higher quality and not easily available. In such a situation, the person can exercise the power of knowledge to influence people.
Is power a force?
So defining power can be difficult as it is understood and interpreted in several ways however power can definitely not be called a force which gets you what you want. Power basically emanates from position or authority which can influence people both positively and negatively.
