POWER & INFLUENCE FOR POSITIVE IMPACT | TOP B-SCHOOL

Filter Results

Topics

Audience

Industry

Year

Power & Influence for Positive Impact

13 Jun 2022
- admin
- Leadership & Management
Influence is a necessary part of life in organizations, and it is unlikely that they could function at all without it. Almost all organizational members influence or attempt to influence others, and almost everyone in any organization is influenced by others. This statement holds true for all types of organizations, whether large or small, public or private. Influence attempts occur in organizations when legitimate authority or power is used. As a result, influence is a process that attempts to elicit compliance with one’s intentions from others.

Influence leadership is defined as having an impact on the beliefs and actions of those you lead. You observe how the people you lead become more motivated and committed, and you apply what you’ve learned to produce positive results. Management influence is built on two-way trust with the people you lead. 59 percent of leaders prioritize employee feedback, and building trust can help pave the way for this feedback. As a powerful leader, this means you not only welcome but actively encourage constructive feedback. You understand that feedback is necessary to improve the overall well-being of the team and to help you grow as a leader. You should also engage with your people and involve them in decision-making rather than make decisions in a bubble.

In terms of power, it refers to an individual’s ability to influence the behavior of another person so that the other person acts in accordance with the individual’s wishes. This implies a potential that does not need to be realized in order to be effective, as well as a dependency relationship. It underpins the entire range of methods for influencing behavior, including emulation, suggestion, persuasion, and coercion. It simply means that the more power a person has, the more effective that person’s influence system is.

Power leadership motivates others to act by using sources of power rather than influence. Powerful leadership allows you to influence how others act, but it does not change what people believe or how committed they are. Power leadership also tends to concentrate power and decision-making in the hands of a single individual. Instead of working to build trust in your team and gain their trust, you concentrate on finding external ways to drive performance. If you rely solely on power, you may not bother to solicit feedback from your team. However, this does not imply that you are unwilling to listen when the opportunity arises.

Leadership necessitates the use of power to influence the thoughts and actions of others.
Influence is the ability to deeply affect behaviours and beliefs, whereas power is the ability to impose your will on others. As a leader, you will need to use your power to steer the ship on occasion. When you use influence to lead, however, you will gradually build deeper trust and loyalty with your team. When you lose a position of power, you lose the power that comes with it, but not the influence that comes with it.

Aditi Bansal
PGDM, Class of 2023