The Real Power Of The Front Line Supervisor Part 3 & 4

Coercive Power

Coercive Power

It is the opposite of reward power because coercive power is the ultimate power to Punish, and followers, employees, subordinates will comply out of sheer fear.

There are all kinds of real world situations that managers and supervisors employ; blocking that much deserved promotion you have been waiting on all year, or openly criticize a subordinate on his/her performance to his boss, being assigned fewer hours or your schedule is moved repeatedly etc. These tactics and behaviors are at the essence of coercive power. I have the power to change your life if I so choose.

Well guess what friends; you dont necessarily have to be a manager, supervisor, director or anyone in management to possess coercive power.

Have you ever found yourself at a job and just wanted to be liked and accepted by your co-workers? Its called the fear of rejection. What about a work slowdown and your co-workers as a whole support the activity, are you willing to stand alone and buck the whole? If the answer is yes then thats coercive power being wielded by the group. Yet, they have no formal power over you.

Out of all of the power bases, this in my opinion can be the most destructive to an organization. As managers we must see it when it happens and put policies and procedures in place to prevent it from impacting. Abuse is waiting just around the corner.

Part IV

Expert Power

Its special; its something that is highly valued and the person that possesses it is highly sought after. A person that is not high on the management totem pole can be a highly sought after expert in the organization. That employee may have a technical skill no one else in the company has, longevity in the company and may be the only person able to perform certain tasks, the administrative assistant that essentially runs the office or the that super salesman who has a close rate greater than any other person on staff. How about the programmer who can figure out any problem faster and more efficiently than the owner of the firm? Please dont forget that very articulate teacher who raises more dollars for the school than any other teacher and all of the parents simply love.

The more difficult and uncomfortable it is to replace a person like that in your organization, the more expert power they possess; but expert power can be overestimated by the individuals ha hold it. There are numerous examples of when expert power has been misjudged in history. Napolon, Douglas MacArthur, the air traffic controllers in the 1980s and most recently, the general dismissed by President Obama in Afghanistan. Organized labor is notorious for over estimating its influence and power over and employer.

Expert power is really a personal type of power and our first three types of power are rooted in an organization and its culture.

Next week we will discuss the impact of when power is miscalculated and how the people not involved perceive the outcomes.

by: Mark Wilcher

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