Types of Leadership To Look Out for in the Workplace
Every organization has leaders with different personality traits that can influence their teams. For example, a solid leadership team can create a positive and productive work environment that keeps employees and helps the company grow. On the other hand, a weak leadership team can hinder an organization’s success and lower employee satisfaction, leading to high turnover rates and a slow growth rate.
To better understand an organization’s workplace culture, it’s best to look at its leadership. A leader’s power includes their position, personality, skills, and knowledge that can influence the culture and practices of an entire organization. While some leadership styles are effective and help motivate an organization’s team, others aren’t too helpful and can cause more issues than solutions.
Here are ten common workplace leadership powers professionals should be aware of within an organization.
Charisma Power
When an organization faces uncertainties in the workplace, a charismatic leader can bring the positivity needed to push forward. Charismatic leaders can resonate with many people, allowing them to connect with their colleagues on a more profound and personal level. These leaders can help motivate the team and address issues empathetically and optimistically.
Coercive Power
A popular type of leadership power used by many professionals is coercive power. This form of power, the least effective, involves using threats and intimidation to get employees to complete tasks. Using coercion in the workplace can make employees feel that they can be reprimanded or fired if they don’t perform tasks efficiently.
Connection Power
Leaders get connection power if they are aligned with people in influential positions. For example, if their alliance with other influential people is known in their workplace, they’re likely to become praised and desired by their employees. In addition, their connections with these professionals can help their organization grow through investments, partnership opportunities, and more.
Expert Power
Expert power arises from having knowledge and experience within a specific field. When a professional in a workplace has a high level of knowledge, many of their colleagues may come to them for their opinions. With expert power, credibility and respect can be easily lost if someone else comes into the organization with more knowledge and experience than them.
Founder Power
Anyone who is the founder of an organization is automatically given founder power due to their position. They are typically the people in an organization who have more insight into what’s happening behind the scenes. This power also applies to entrepreneurs who are no longer involved in running the operations of their businesses but still have access to confidential information.
Informational Power
When a leader in an organization has access to information that the rest of the team doesn’t, then they have informational power. Once others become aware of what resources or news their leader is holding on to, their curiosity can give that person more power. This type of power can be short or long-term, depending on how long the information is kept confidential.
Legitimate Power
This type of power is given based on a person’s title or position in an organization. Legitimate power is earned based on the skills and experience required to perform the position’s duties. With this type of power being received based on position, it can easily be taken away if the person is demoted or terminated from the organization.
Moral Power
A professional with moral power influences others through their values, beliefs, and behaviors. When leaders facilitate power with their morals, they can often motivate their team to follow them. In addition, when employees see their leader guide the way by their morals and ethics, they’re more likely to see them as role models in the workplace.
Power of Reward
Also known as reward power, this power implies that a person can give rewards or incentives in exchange for getting a task completed. The rewards can be promotions, raises, benefits, or public appreciation. While many people are moved to accomplish tasks if there’s a promise of receiving a reward, this type of power isn’t always practical.
Referent Power
Having a great personality can help establish power in the workplace. A person with referent power has strong interpersonal skills and a high level of confidence. This professional can easily charm and influence their colleagues with a likable personality. This type of power cannot be inherited, as it is based on a person’s internal characteristics, not external ones.
Understanding the leadership styles in the workplace can help individuals work effectively. While some powers can influence a more hostile and reward-based environment, others can create a positive and productive workplace.