Module 4: Power and InfluenceModule 5: Organizational DesignModule 4: Power and Influence● People often to learn to associate power with corruption and abuse● Power paradox: we want power, status, create hierarchy, but don’t like the thought of it● Why do we want power?○ Health - social rank drives immunity (e.g. monkeys, human mortality from heart disease, jazz band leaders)○ Wealth - power leads to visibility, esteem, and fame, which can be traded for money (e.g. speaking, endorsements, Clintons)○ Efficacy - the ability to get things done, achieve whatever goals you have for yourself or even for others (e.g. skillful blood banks vs powerless doctors)● Barriers to Power○ The Self – pursuing power not part of your identity, concerned about what others will think, don’t feel like you’re cut out for power – lack of confidence ○ The Just World Effect - belief that good things happen to good people (vice versa)■ If you play by the rules, you will win/get promoted■ Prevents us from thinking that we need power; we think everything will happen out in the end● Power - the capacity to change others’ behavior, overcome resistance, and get people to do things they would not do otherwise; when someone depends on you more than you depend on them○ Providing/withholding resources○ Administering punishments● Power as Dependency:o A has control over something B values (importance)o B cannot obtain it elsewhere (scarcity)o B cannot easily find substitutes for it (non-substitutability)● How to close power gap between you and boss:○ Diminish the importance of the resource ($$) → importance○ Find another place to get it (e.g. new job) → scarcity○ Find a substitute (e.g. public achievement vs relying on boss’ evaluation) → non-substitutability● Personal characteristics linked to power:○ Ambition - excited to learn how to get power, keep going through setbacks, have goals (able to measure success against these goals)○ Energy - lot of physical energy leads to more motivation○ Focus - focused on a particular goal in a distracting world○ Self-knowledge - good sense of self/personality○ Confidence - become more powerful in groups○ Empathy (perspective taking) - able to experience what others are experiencing, able to be more strategic○ Ability to tolerate conflict - conflict is unavoidable, can increase people’s respect for you● Bases of power:○ Formal power - come from positions within hierarchy■ Coercive power - ability to punish, fear based (e.g. terminate, reduce salary, assign to undesirable shifts, embarrass publicly, withhold information or desired actions)■ Reward power - ability to provide positive benefits ($$, resources, attention/praise, access/information/relationships)■ Legitimate power - authority from one’s position, broader than just coercion and rewards, includes members’ acceptance of the authority of a person○ Personal power - **most effective**, associated with employee’s satisfaction with supervision, organizational commitment, and performance, ■ Expert power - expertise, skills, knowledge (e.g. surgeon, Steve Jobs)■ Referent power - identification with person; admiration and respect, trust that onecares about the group, likeability, charisma (e.g. Oprah, Ghandi)○ Effectiveness  Personal power = most effective, positively related to employee’s satisfaction with supervision, organizational commitment, and performance Reward and legitimate power = unrelated to these outcomes Coercive power = negatively related to employee satisfaction and commitment● Displaying power:○ Be strategic about increasing real & perceived power ○ Nonverbal signals - display comfort and confidence■ Dress like the level of hierarchy you are in■ Posture - take up space = more powerful (arms out, feet spread, hands behind head, feet up on desk); “power pose” increases testosterone and decreases cortisol■ Eye gaze patterns - powerful people make direct eye contact when speaking but not when listening, vice versa for powerless● Eyes straight ahead, chin up = powerful● Eyes, chin down = powerless○ Conversational dominance■ More time speaking, interrupting others, directness in speech○ Emotional expression: anger = power○ Main point of nonverbal signals - Display comfort & confidence ● Networking: A potential contact is anyone who doesn’t scratch their head in bewilderment when they hear your name○ A large network of weak ties = more powerful, this is where we get most jobs because there are more reach into different domains/industries (vs. a small network of loyal ties) ■ Structural hold - link one person with another person → has more power, creativity, innovation because you know how to link them○ Strategic networking - ■ Where you work, where you sit, what types of projects you seek out, who you spend time with● Consequences of Power (Pitfalls):○ Approach-Related Effects of Power■ Power affects our physiological systems■ High Power → BAS activation (Behavioral Approach System) → body prepared for acting, low capacity for thinking ● Less likely to weigh pros and cons■ Low Power → BIS activation (Behavioral Inhibition System) → body prepared for thinking, low capacity for acting○ Illusion of Control:■ E.g. voting, rolling the die yourself■ Control heuristics - more practice, you think you have more control (e.g. practice flipping a coin/die, does not give you more control)○ Tendency to take action ■ E.g. turning off/moving the fan, plans to vote in upcoming election○ Negative: ■ Overconfidence → more likely to engage in risky behavior■ Greater confidence (high power) inversely correlated with accuracy■ Power increases the need to feel more competent (even when they aren't) → threatens their egos, respond to success with arrogant pride, be aggressive towards others to make up for their threatened egos■ Power but no status (ex: Stanford Prison Experiment) → abuse, take other people down a notch○ Effects of power on the powerful:■ Illusory control■ Action-orientation■ Overconfidence■ Risk-taking■ Need to demonstrate competence● Influence - Six Key Tactics (Robert Cialdini)○ Reciprocity - people feel the need to return gifts and favors■ Do things that add value to others:● Send links to articles, give small gifts, write encouraging notes, offer to do a favor, ask for favors● In response to a favor: