Dave Stachowiak: Eight Types of Power
A brief word from Power vs. Force* by David Hawkins
In 1959, French & Raven identified several types of power in their research:
1. Reward power
- Giving something of value
2. Expert power
- Knowledge, competence, and experience
3. Referent power
- Personality and charisma to influence others
4. Legitimate
- We have the legitimate right to command given our position in the organization
In 1975, Raven & Kruglanski added to the list…
5. Connection power
- Access to powerful people and organizations
6. Information power
- Access to information that other parties don’t have
In 1989, Liberatore et al. added…
7. Group decision-making power
- The decisions an entire organization gets behind
Finally, in 1991, Yukl & Falbe identified…
8. Persuasive power
- The ability to influence through logic and dialogue
A brief word about force
- Coercive “power” is also cited in the research
- This is the force against will – to threaten punishment and deliver penalty
- Effective leaders have two directives when considering force:
- 1. Use it only as a last resort
- 2. To be certain, at least beyond a reasonable doubt, that it’s justified
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