Agenda
Power is an essential ingredient to life and progress. The sun is our primary source of power, by far. Fossil fuels originally got their energy from the sun. Hydroelectric dams harness energy which originates with the sun.
In physics, power is defined as work over time. To bring about change we need power. To move anything we need power. To heat something we need power. To change anything over time, we need power.
In a social context, power is similar. To change a person’s thoughts or actions we need social power. By definition, Social Power is the potential to change another person over time. Social power influences our beliefs, attitudes, goals, values and behavior. Most of our core ethics were once the values of other people, who, in turn, passed them on to us.
While physical power can be measured precisely in units of watts. Social power, on the other hand is mostly unmeasured and unmeasurable. While most physical power originates with our sun, social power is distributed, albeit unevenly. Social power, like wealth, is concentrated in a select few. There are a few people who accumulate an immense amount of social power, while most people amass very little.
As an expert, you need social power. You must be able to influence people's thought and actions. If a person does not experience change as a result of meeting you, why meet them at all? Your involvement should not be trivial or inconsequential. No, experts must be agents of change, and the way people are changed is through social power.
When we incent people to perform a desired action through the offering of a conditional benefit, we are exercising reward power.
Governments use rewards to incent desired behavior among citizenry. For example, the US Federal Government provides tax benefits for people who purchase homes, pay for college tuition, or buy alternatively powered cars. Companies use reward power to attract new customers. Credit card offers often include some form of reward.
Corporate leaders and government agencies are not the only sources of rewards. SMEs can act as catalysts for available rewards. Maybe you go out of your way to help a sale representative exceed a quota. Maybe you help a customer fix a vexing problem. They obtain a reward because of your knowledge or your action. This is desirable for an SME because you became the source of the reward, at least in part. As a result, you have increased power and increased influence.
We are surrounded by people who are starved for the slightest recognition or appreciation. Too few corporate and governmental leaders reward their people with the praise or recognition they deserve. A thoughtful gesture can do more to influence behavior than monetary incentives ever will. As an SME you should look for unique ways to reward the people around you. Whether you give them a gift or a handwritten note, people appreciate flattery and compliments. Doing this will, over time, increase your influence.
Coercive power is the antithesis of reward power. Rather than offering a reward, coercive power offers only punishment.
Reward power is common for encouraging desired behaviors and coercion power is common for discouraging unwanted behavior. Failure to conform elicits a negative experience. So, reward power is the proverbial carrot and coercive power is the proverbial stick.
Coercive power is an influential deterrent. It is used frequently because it is effective. Laws are ultimately enforced with coercive power. People, including young children, learn and comply with direct threats very quickly. But, coercive power is always negative and manipulative. It is accompanied by negative emotions by both the giver and the receiver.
Many organizations are plagued by negative emotions as a byproduct of coercive power. A century ago, textile workers routinely punished one another for over-performance. When workers became aware that someone was performing above quota that person was systematically subverted or punished socially for making other workers "look bad."
Coercive power has a tendency of spreading. Like bullying, a person who is coerced, has a tendency to coerce. Predictably, coercive power often ends poorly, with lower productivity, higher voluntary turnover, and increased work time absence. When coercive power is exerted routinely, there is always a chance that the punished person will withdraw completely.
SMEs can, and often do, employ coercive tactics to push their ideas or agendas. Manipulation, condescension, and indifference are all used to punish people who do not do what the SME wants. Coercive power may have the desired short-term effect, but the practice always leaves the SME exposed to subversion. People should not do what you say because they are afraid of what you might do to them. They should do what you say because of the merits of what you recommend. They should be inclined to support you because they know what you recommend helps them, not because it threatens them. Experts should beware of coercive power.
Also called "positional power," legitimate power is granted to an individual because of the position held within an organization.
Legitimate power is formal authority delegated to the holder of the position. It is usually accompanied by distinguishing attributes of power such as a uniform, a title, or an imposing physical office.
Also called "positional power," legitimate power is granted to an individual because of the position held within an organization. Legitimate power is formal authority delegated to the holder of the position. It is usually accompanied by distinguishing attributes of power such as a uniform, a title, or an imposing physical office.
When someone has legitimate power it is commonly understood that we "should" do as they direct. We "ought to" comply, or they have the "right to" direct our actions.
Government leaders and corporate executives have legitimate power by virtue of their positions. When someone has legitimate power, the audience feels morally, ethically, or legally bound to do what that person says. Police and other law enforcement professionals are granted tremendous legitimate power.
It is important to realize that SMEs can also utilize legitimate power as well. Industry standards bodies can grant legitimate power to their members. For example, board certified accountants or board certified medical professionals have a measure of legitimacy, and legitimate power.
Unlike reward power and coercive power, which require constant monitoring to maintain, legitimate power can be stable for a very long time.
This is one of the reasons SMEs should obtain certifications when possible and practical. Once certified by an objective standard, an expert obtains legitimate power which is typically long-lasting. This certification buoys your power and influence. It increases the likelihood that people will follow your recommendations.
The fourth type of social power is referent power. If you want to be like someone, that person that you want to be like, has power. Referent power grows with unity. The more you want to be with someone or be like that person the more referent power they will possess.
Whenever a person aspires to identify with another person, regardless of the rational, that person has referent power. Wealthy, successful, and attractive people have referent power.
A feeling of oneness or a desire to associate with someone will influence thoughts and behavior. If your audience does not like you, they will discount what you say. If they do like you (for any reason) they are more likely to follow your recommendation. When an SME has personality and charisma, when an SME gains the excitement of an audience, or when people want to associate with an SME, that SME has referent power.
The fifth power is connection power. If you have a relationship with important people who will respond to your communication and act on your behalf, you have connection power.
The depth and breadth of your social networks often determines the strength of your connection power. Originally, this type of power did not appear on French and Raven’s list but was added years later.
Generally, SMEs are not expected to have vast connections. To the contrary, this is where a sales team is expected to shine. SMEs are typically expected to know things and perform important functions rather than hobnob with politically connected people. But that does not mean that connections are unimportant or insignificant for SMEs.
SMEs are benefited by knowing that connections matter and they matter a lot. The adage “Its not what you know but who you know that matters” suggests that connection power is as important, or maybe more important, than other forms of power.
And the sixth social power, the power many SMEs rely upon is information power. Knowledge, facts, logic, statistics, proofs, evidence, and deductive reasoning are all part of information power.
Information power exists independent of the source. It does not matter where an idea comes from for it to have an effect. Of course as an SME you should be the source of many ideas. But once conveyed, knowledge takes on a life of its own in the recipient. The information continues without you.
Of all the social powers, information power is the longest lasting. Once received and internalized, information can last forever. Unlike reward power or coercive power which need to be monitored and reinforced, Information power lives on regardless of the state of the giver.
In order for information to impact its audience it must be understood. If your audience does not understand something, then the information cannot fully influence their thoughts and behavior. This is why it is so important for experts to explain ideas in ways that people understand. Information must be relevant. If your audience does not care about it nor see how the information applies to them, then the information does not effectively exist.
And finally, the last of French and Raven’s social powers is expert power. Expert Power results when your audience has faith that you have some superior insight, knowledge, or skill that is best or most appropriate under a given circumstance.
Doctors, lawyers, personal trainers, tax accountants, information security professionals, auto mechanics, and many others use expert power to convince their audiences to trust them and to perform certain actions. Whenever someone performs an action because a skilled person recommends it, expert power is in play.
Expertise does not need to be genuine for expert power to be effective. It is the perception of expertise that produces the influence, not the expertise itself. Fakers can be highly effective at invoking expert power.
SMEs should be confident in their recommendations and invoke expert power as a matter of course in their career. All people have access to social power, but experts are unique. Experts can genuinely exert power and influence in ways that others cannot. Customers and colleagues seek experts because they believe you can do something they cannot, or they believe you know things that they do not.
As an SME, you have access to all forms of social power. They are all at your disposal and your discretion. Reward power, coercive power, legitimate power, referent power, and connection power, are all temporary. They will all eventually end, because they require monitoring to be sustained. But your power and influence through expert power and information power can last forever.
One final note about expert power. Being an expert does not automatically bestow sound moral judgement. Indeed, sometimes to the contrary. John Dalberg-Acton once said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
