Of authorities and powers
Power theory states that there are 5 kinds of powers that a leader can use to influence his followers. They are referent, coercive, legitimate, reward and expert power.
Referent Power means the power or ability of individuals to attract others and build loyalty. It's based on the charisma and interpersonal skills of the power holder. Here the person under power desires to identify with these personal qualities, and gains satisfaction from being an accepted follower. Nationalism or Patriotism counts towards an intangible sort of referent power as well. For example, soldiers fight in wars to defend the honour of the country. This is the second least obvious power, but the most effective.
Coercive Power means the application of negative influences onto employees. It might refer to the ability to demote or to withhold other rewards. It's the desire for valued rewards or the fear of having them withheld that ensures the obedience of those under power. Coercive Power tends to be the most obvious but least effective form of power as it builds resentment and resistance within the targets of Coercive Power.
Legitimate Power refers to power of an individual because of the relative position and duties of the holder of the position within an organization. Legitimate Power is formal authority delegated to the holder of the position. It is usually accompanied by various attributes of power such as uniforms, offices etc. This is the most obvious and also the most important kind of power.
Reward Power depends upon the ability of the power wielder to confer valued material rewards, it refers to the degree to which the individual can give others a reward of some kind such as benefits, time off, desired gifts, promotions or increases in pay or responsibility. This power is obvious but also ineffective if abused. People who abuse reward power can become pushy or became reprimanded for being too forthcoming or 'moving things too quickly'.
Expert Power is an individual's power deriving from the skills or expertise of the person and the organization's needs for those skills and expertise. Unlike the others, this type of power is usually highly specific and limited to the particular area in which the expert is trained and qualified. This type of power is further broken down later on as Information Power. While the difference between expert power and information power is subtle, people with this type of power are well-informed, up-to-date and also have the ability to persuade others. Another difference would be that people with Expert Power are perceived by his/her image of expertise to show credibility (i.e. a qualified doctor in a doctor uniform), while one with Information Power does not have a strict need to 'look the part of a professional', but they must keep up to date with new research, and have confidence in debating, or are persuasive.
So these are the five bases of social powers that are available in the market. However, my own personal stand is that experts in power theories often missed out the element of spiritual authority and spiritual power. Or rather, this is a base of power that is being given to by God. It can be thought that this base of power overlap with the 5 bases of power, which is true. However, it would be too limited if we place spiritual authority under the 5 bases as each of them would be inadequate to explain for this. In fact, anyone with spiritual authority may not be accepted by man, and man, by nature, would find it easier to accept the 5 bases of powers rather than spiritual authority. For example, when Jesus said that all authorities have been given to Him, it's not something that ordinary man and woman would accept if they dun see it backed up by the 5 bases. But... and it's a big BUT, anyone of us who enjoys a personal relationship with Jesus would intrinsically understand that His authority, the power by which He resides in, is not confined by the 5 bases of power, but in fact it was much more than that. The authority does not lie in positions, does not lie in knowledge, does not lie in relationship, but lies in who God is.
Why am I saying this? The fact lies in that a lot of time, we may fall into the trap that our leadership over our group lies in one of the 5 bases. We failed to realise that we lead by God's authority, the spiritual authority that is anointed by God. As such, we started relying on human strengths and not on God.
So, it's just that.
Referent Power means the power or ability of individuals to attract others and build loyalty. It's based on the charisma and interpersonal skills of the power holder. Here the person under power desires to identify with these personal qualities, and gains satisfaction from being an accepted follower. Nationalism or Patriotism counts towards an intangible sort of referent power as well. For example, soldiers fight in wars to defend the honour of the country. This is the second least obvious power, but the most effective.
Coercive Power means the application of negative influences onto employees. It might refer to the ability to demote or to withhold other rewards. It's the desire for valued rewards or the fear of having them withheld that ensures the obedience of those under power. Coercive Power tends to be the most obvious but least effective form of power as it builds resentment and resistance within the targets of Coercive Power.
Legitimate Power refers to power of an individual because of the relative position and duties of the holder of the position within an organization. Legitimate Power is formal authority delegated to the holder of the position. It is usually accompanied by various attributes of power such as uniforms, offices etc. This is the most obvious and also the most important kind of power.
Reward Power depends upon the ability of the power wielder to confer valued material rewards, it refers to the degree to which the individual can give others a reward of some kind such as benefits, time off, desired gifts, promotions or increases in pay or responsibility. This power is obvious but also ineffective if abused. People who abuse reward power can become pushy or became reprimanded for being too forthcoming or 'moving things too quickly'.
Expert Power is an individual's power deriving from the skills or expertise of the person and the organization's needs for those skills and expertise. Unlike the others, this type of power is usually highly specific and limited to the particular area in which the expert is trained and qualified. This type of power is further broken down later on as Information Power. While the difference between expert power and information power is subtle, people with this type of power are well-informed, up-to-date and also have the ability to persuade others. Another difference would be that people with Expert Power are perceived by his/her image of expertise to show credibility (i.e. a qualified doctor in a doctor uniform), while one with Information Power does not have a strict need to 'look the part of a professional', but they must keep up to date with new research, and have confidence in debating, or are persuasive.
So these are the five bases of social powers that are available in the market. However, my own personal stand is that experts in power theories often missed out the element of spiritual authority and spiritual power. Or rather, this is a base of power that is being given to by God. It can be thought that this base of power overlap with the 5 bases of power, which is true. However, it would be too limited if we place spiritual authority under the 5 bases as each of them would be inadequate to explain for this. In fact, anyone with spiritual authority may not be accepted by man, and man, by nature, would find it easier to accept the 5 bases of powers rather than spiritual authority. For example, when Jesus said that all authorities have been given to Him, it's not something that ordinary man and woman would accept if they dun see it backed up by the 5 bases. But... and it's a big BUT, anyone of us who enjoys a personal relationship with Jesus would intrinsically understand that His authority, the power by which He resides in, is not confined by the 5 bases of power, but in fact it was much more than that. The authority does not lie in positions, does not lie in knowledge, does not lie in relationship, but lies in who God is.
Why am I saying this? The fact lies in that a lot of time, we may fall into the trap that our leadership over our group lies in one of the 5 bases. We failed to realise that we lead by God's authority, the spiritual authority that is anointed by God. As such, we started relying on human strengths and not on God.
So, it's just that.
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