The five forms of power were introduced by John French and Bertram Raven, and depicts different forms of power that exist in organizations. There are ones that are short-lived with limitations and ones that are more sustainable and scalable.
- Coercive Power: Being able to force someone to do something (against one’s will)
- Cause of many problems, poor form of leadership, can be easily overthrown (or abused)
- Reward Power: Ability to reward to do something unpleasant
- Diminishing returns, short-term effect, regularity removes its effectiveness completely
- Legitimate Power: Exercise a degree of reward or punishment based on role/title
- Loses power immediately as the position or title is changed, weak form to persuade/convince people
- Referent Power: Respected, approved, admired
- Highly scalable and effective, but may decrease dramatically based on circumstance (e.g., popular politician getting taken off the show upon scandal)
- Expert Power: Knowledgeable and capable
- Long-lasting, high value, and defensible form of power
Later on, they added 6th power — Informational Power: Ability to control the information that others need to accomplish something which usually comes from a position or a role. This too can be effective, but can also be interpreted as political or gossiping.
One of the most effective ways to build and demonstrate your power in the organization is the combination of #4 Referent Power and #5 Expert Power. By combining the two, leaders can build and demonstrate scalable and long-lasting form of influences in their organization and beyond.
Positive Tenacity 