What kind of power is given to a leader by her his followers?

Powerful leaders are usually extremely persuasive. In general, power is connected to credibility and influence. When you're influencing people, you capture their hearts and move them. But not everyone knows what to do with power once they have it. 

"Power tends to get to people's heads," says Nicole Lipkin, author of What Keeps Leaders Up At Night. "We're not really trained to handle power well."

In 1959, psychologists John French and Bertram Raven developed a framework for understanding different types of power. In her book, Lipkin writes about these specific types of power and why it's important for leaders to understand what type of power they're using.

The Types of Power in Leadership

1. Legitimate Power

Legitimate power happens when someone is in a higher position, giving them control over others. "If you have this power, it's essential that you understand that this power was given to you (and can be taken away), so don't abuse it," Lipkin says.

"If [someone] rises to the position of CEO and her employees believe she deserves this position, they will respond favorably when she exercises her legitimate power," Lipkin says. "On the other hand, if [she] rises to the position of CEO, but people don't believe that she deserves this power, it [may] be a bad move for the company as a whole."

2. Coercive Power

"There is not a time of day when you should use it," Lipkin tells us. "Ultimately, you can't build credibility with coercive influence—you can think of it like bullying in the workplace."

No matter how good of a leader you are, if you're wielding coercive power, you are leading with fear, and this won't win respect and loyalty from your employees for long.

3. Expert Power

Another type of power in leadership is expert power. This power comes directly from your top-level skills and years of experience. Once you hold this knowledge, your peers will regard you as an expert. 

"If [someone] holds an MBA and a Ph.D. in statistical analysis, her colleagues and reports are more inclined to accede to her expertise," Lipkin says. "This gives [her] a great deal of influence."

The great thing about this type of power is that no one can take it away from you. It's the knowledge that you hold. However, to remain an expert and to keep your status and influence, you need to continue learning and improving.

4. Informational Power

This is a short-term power that doesn't necessarily influence or build credibility. For example, a project manager may have all the information for a specific project, giving him "informational power." But it's hard for a person to keep this power for long, and eventually this information will be released. This should not be a long-term strategy.

5. Power of Reward

"When you start talking financial livelihood, power takes on a whole new meaning," Lipkin says. This power is held by those who can motivate people to respond to win raises, promotions, and awards.

Lipkin gives this example: "Both Diane and Bob hold a certain amount of reward power if they administer performance reviews that determine raises and bonuses for their people."

6. Connection Power

This power creates influence by proxy and is all about networking. You can attain this type of power by gaining favor and being a resource to the people you connect with.

"If I have a connection with someone that you want to get to, that's going to give me power. That's politics in a way," Lipkin says. "People employing this power build important coalitions with others ... [The] natural ability to forge such connections with individuals and assemble them into coalitions [can yield] strong connection power."

7. Referent Power

No matter what type of leader you are, referent power is one of the most valuable kinds of power. That's because it's all about the quality of the relationship developed with others and how those relationships are built.

"This power depends on personal traits and values, such as honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness. People with high referent power can highly influence anyone who admires and respects them."

Each of these types of power has its advantages and disadvantages. So as a leader, it's essential to understand all seven types of power to inspire and motivate others to achieve their goals and build trust and credibility. In short, when people perceive you in a power position, they rely on you, and there's a lot you can achieve through influence.

A version of this article was originally published on June 17, 2013.

Photo: Getty Images

To be an effective leader is to understand how to wield power and what it means when you do so. Being a leader is more than managing employees and tasks. Leadership is a skill. That skill requires both knowledge and practice to make it effective. The use of power is one of many tools at a leader's disposal. Power in itself is neither good nor bad as it is the wielder that determines if power is used to serve or to undermine a company's goals. Power is much more than simple confidence. It is a necessary tool for enacting change within your sphere of influence. If used effectively, the use of power will gain respect and achieve results. If used improperly, the misuse of power can hamstring an organization and lead to stagnation.

In the late 1950s, John French and Bertram Raven published “The bases of social power” which included five distinct types of power. They later added a sixth. All six of these types of power are part of the fundamental knowledge that all leaders must possess to be effective. Of course, it is not only leaders that possess power. Each of us has power and each of us has the power to choose how our power is used. Knowing what the types of power are and how they can be used (or abused) is important to our ability to make decisions that affect both our sphere of influence and our personal core values. Let us explore in detail the six types of power in order from least effective to most effective.

Coercive Power

Coercive Power is often the least effective but most employed (and abused) type of power in the corporate world.

Coercive Power is forcing someone to do something against their will or setting up “consequences” to employee actions. 

Coercive leaders rely on threats, bullying, and “or-else” language to “motivate” those that are beneath them.

This type of behavior often leads to fear, dissatisfaction, and resentment. 

Reward Power

Reward Power is another widely used method in business today. The results of Reward power are mixed and it is, therefore, the second weakest form of power.

Reward Power is the concept of doing this and get that. Or (said another way) if you do this, you will receive something in return.

Reward Power is useful as long as the reward is perceived as having value. Giving away a gold star or a gift card may be nice if it is something that is rare, but if over-used the effect may be weakened. In many cases, the employees begin to experience frustration when the reward does not grow larger. Other times, the reward can be taken for granted by the person giving the reward as just compensation for a task when the employee feels that the reward is not sufficient enough to compensate for the requested task. (Think of buying your department Pizza for the 5th time this week as a result of a poorly set customer expectation).

Reward power can also be used to increase morale. Think of giving a trophy to the highest performer or the team with the lowest amount of mistakes. If used well, This type of reward can become a highly sought-after status symbol within your organization.

 Legitimate Power

Legitimate Power is in all organizations (Zappos Holacracy non-withstanding and maybe even then.)

Legitimate Power is the power of position or role. This is the typical “command and control” structure that is employed by the Military world.

Legitimate Power acts as a formalized way of ensuring that there is someone to make a decision (good or bad) and that someone is responsible. Legitimate power can seem arbitrary and when a person loses or changes positions or roles within a company, this type of power does not move with them. By itself, this power's ability to persuade and convince others is weak. However, when combined with the next three powers, Legitimate Power can be an excellent first step toward effective leadership.

Referent Power

Referent Power is the “cult of personality”. This is the power and ability of an individual to attract others and to build loyalty within them.

Referent Power is also the power of respect. This can occur through time if a leader is successful and has a well-known track record of success.

Referent Power is also created through the values of the individual. Some folks are born with “It”. Others study leadership and develop themselves to be able to exercise this form of power effectively.

Informational Power

Informational Power is the newest addition to the types of power by French and Raven. Nonetheless, it is in the top 3 most effective types of power.

Informational Power is the power of having information that another does not have, or, the distribution of information as a means of effecting change. This could be positive or negative propaganda, knowledge of an opponent's strategy, or detailed information that is used in decision support (Think of how the Nielson ratings affect the price of a commercial).

Informational Power is in the possible use of information by persuading “by the numbers” or making up a “statistic” to manipulate opinions. (Some say that statistics are a precise and logical method for stating a half-truth, inaccurately).

Informational Power can be used to measure and improve tasks, processes, and strategies.

Expert Power

Closely related to Informational Power, Expert Power is when an individual possesses in-depth information, knowledge, or expertise in the area that they are responsible for. This type of power is often the most effective type of power. This is the Software Architect, the lead engineer, the CFO, CTO, Doctor, or other highly skilled and highly trained employees. Because the person has this high level of expertise, they can often persuade others to do things for them using trust and respect. This expertise and therefore this type of power are greatly valued in leadership roles.

Excellent leaders seek to use the most effective type of power at the correct time. They also seek others that understand how leadership and vision work in order to set up a framework for success. (The book Good to Great by Jim Collins provides many great examples as do the courses taught by Professor Michael A. Roberto).

Being familiar with the different types of power is an excellent addition to any leader's skill set. Employing power in conjunction with the values that you and your company ascribe to is the next logical step. A few excellent examples are Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly successful people (Habits 1 and 2) and John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (The Law of Influence and The Law of the Picture). Also, as of 2022, I'd add in Stephen M. R. Covey's The Speed of Trust.

John Prescott is a Technology Evangelist and a champion of leadership, teamwork, and professional growth in the workplace. Feel free to direct comments or suggestions via linkedin.

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