The five sources of a leader’s power come from distinctly different sources. Here’s an overview:
Expert Power: When a leader has significant domain knowledge/skills. E.g. an expert accountant influences how junior accountants go about their tasks
Positional Power: Comes when a leader has a legitimately held position of authority. E.g. typically, the CEO of an organization has the highest positional power
Reward Power: Is evident when a leader can give, or take away, a reward. E.g. a leader can influence a follower’s behavior by awarding a bonus, or taking away perks
Coercive Power: This is felt when a leader creates the perception of a threat. E.g. a leader has coercive power if her followers believe that she will initiate disciplinary action
Personal Power: Influence gained by persuasion. E.g. a manager may have to rely on nothing more than a friendly please and thank you for an employee to perform a task
So now we will look at each of these sources of power and consider when they could be used, and when it’s not appropriate to use them…