Power, the thing that so many people want, whether they admit it or not. So what is power? One definition is power is having the discretion and the means to asymmetrically enforce ones will over others. Traditionally, researchers talk about five different bases of power, that is, sources of power. First is reward power, or the ability to give people what they want. For example, imagine a boss who can give promotions. Second is coercive power, which is the ability to inflict punishment, for example, firing someone. Third, expert power is the influence you have from just knowing useful things. Consultants, for example, have this or professors. This is my personal favorite. Legitimate power is the power that is instilled in a social role or position rather than a specific ability. So a coach on a team might be able to inflict punishment on players, but for the most part, player is listen to them because they're the coach. The social role called coach gives you certain power in a specific social context. Finally, there's referent power. Think about the power that celebrities and role models have. You want to be near them, you want to be like them. That is referent power. Mostly these seek to develop and use all five of these bases if they can. Formal leaders tend to focus on reward, coercive, and legitimate power. Whereas informal leaders tend to focus on expert and referent power. But what does power do? There are two major theories that guide this research. First is the motivational theory of power. Since having power means you can do what you want, this activates the behavioral approach system in the brain. Think of it like the accelerator in your car. Having power means you hit the gas and you're less likely to use the brakes. This means a few different things which we'll talk about. But most broadly, it means that having power causes you to seek out rewards and opportunities with less concern for the risks involved. Another perspective suggests that having power cuts you off from other people. This social distance that you feel from other people can have lots of different consequences. In particular, you might have trouble connecting with people in an authentic way. We all talk about social distance as much in this video, but you will find out more in the reading. Now let's get into some specifics. First, power increases positive emotions and motivation. This means that the powerful engage in more smiling and positive affect. They have a greater sense of confidence and more optimism, and at times, dangerously, they're more likely to take risks. Having power itself feels good, whether you use it or not. Second, power causes more approach related behavior. This means the powerful tend to be motivated by trying to get what they want, rather than avoiding what they don't want. Having power means you are more likely to take the initiative over others. You're also more likely to seek opportunities instead of worrying about threats or concerns. Lastly, power causes a broad minded perspective and broad perspective thinking for both good and bad. This means that the powerful tend to think globally and in generalities. This can be a strength when you're managing an entire team. Or it can be a weakness when you need to adapt to an individual follower. On one hand, it can cause leaders to engage in more stereotyping, which can lead to biased actions. On the other hand, power can promote creativity because it causes cognition to be broader and more flexible. As you can imagine, all of these could be good or bad, depending on the situation. In the readings, we will go deeper and you will learn about more outcomes of power. For example, you will learn about whether power corrupts. What do you think? Do you think power corrupts? Finally, in the next section, we will talk about one specific kind of power, influence in the form of persuasion.
