Question

You have recently been hired to lead a team comprised of relatively long term, experienced employees. Their performance has been generally satisfactory; however, changes are coming and it will be your job to affect this change. As the “new sheriff” in town, what sources of power and influence are available to you? Which do you feel would be most successful and why? What are the potential consequences of your using the types of power and influence you identified? How do you think you would best be able to resolve any conflicts within the team?

Answer 1

Organisational Power and Influence:

Power and Influence are used to get people to listen to you and get them to take action and influence their behaviour. The degrees of power vary based on factors such as experience, knowledge, authority, personality, etc. The dynamics of influence on the individuals varies according to the type of power used.

As the new Sheriff of the town, the various powers available to me are:

1. Positional Power
2. Referent Power
3. Expert Power
4. Coercive Power
5. Reward Power

I would choose to use Positional Power and Expert Power. This is because, as I am in the position of the Sheriff of the town, people give me respect because of my position and authority. I could potentially use this power. They could also consult me regarding various matters, making me use Expert Power over them. These would be successful in increasing the long term employees' productivity levels. Once I get to know the members of the team, I could move on to use referent Power and reward Power. But using them now itself would be premature to do so.

The potential consequences of using the types of power identified would be:

1. By using positional power, I could make use of my authority as a sheriff to get work done.
2. By using referent Power, I could be a leader to my team and lead them to the collective team goals by motivating them frim time to time.
3. By using my expertise, teammates could consult me in matters that are my forte. I could guide them and pave a way for the successful accomplishment of goals.
4. By using coercive Power, it will make the teammates fear me and will hence get the work done in fear.
5. By using reward Power, I could get the teammates to work extra by keeping them motivated on getting a reward for their extra hardwork.

I would resolve conflicts by maintaining an open and free path of communication between us. This will allow them to be transperant and will help accomplish the goals together. I would also set a good example for them and lead by role model.