MGMT2100 Chap.7 Leadership Language, Power and Influence
Leadership Language, Power and Influence
Leadership and power are taught together because both are exercised through communication. The chapter defines leadership as influencing others toward group or organisational goals, then compares the great person theory, the behavioural dimensions, transformational leadership and situational leadership, which matches the style to the follower. It covers the language of leadership through framing and rhetorical crafting.
On power, it explains the dependency principle, the Yukl and Falbe typology of formal and personal bases, which bases tend to work, the influence tactics with the outcomes of commitment, compliance and resistance, and organisational politics with impression management and ethics.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Leadership definition and characteristics
- 02
Behavioural and transformational leadership
- 03
Situational leadership: telling, selling, participating, delegating
- 04
Framing and rhetorical crafting
- 05
Power as a function of dependency
- 06
Formal and personal power bases
- 07
Influence tactics, outcomes and organisational politics
Worked example · free
Choose a situational leadership style for three employees
- 1Diagnose readiness for each person: unable and insecure, unable but willing, and capable and willing.
- 2First-week casual: telling, with specific instructions and close supervision, because the person lacks both skill and confidence.
- 2Eager trainee: selling, with specific instructions plus strong support, because motivation is high but skill is still developing.
- 1Experienced supervisor: delegating, with low task direction and low relationship behaviour, because the person is capable and willing.
Key terms
- Transformational leadership
- Leadership marked by charisma, vision, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, individual consideration and moral reasoning.
- Framing
- Defining the purpose of a message by focusing, shaping and organising how a situation is seen.
- Legitimate power
- Formal power derived from a person's rank or position.
- Resource power
- Formal power held by gatekeepers who control resources that others value.
- Influence tactic
- A specific strategy for exerting influence, such as rational persuasion, consultation, exchange or pressure.
- Organisational politics
- Activities outside a formal role that influence how advantages are distributed in an organisation.
- Ingratiation
- An influence tactic that uses friendliness, praise or flattery before making a request.
Leadership Language, Power and Influence FAQ
Which power bases are most effective according to the course?
Staff of supervisors who rely on expert and referent power tend to report more satisfaction with supervision, stronger organisational commitment and better performance. Reward and legitimate power show no clear link to those outcomes, and coercive power usually backfires. Personal sources of power therefore tend to be more effective than formal ones.
What are the three outcomes of an influence attempt?
Commitment, where the target is enthusiastic and makes a full effort; compliance, where the attempt partly succeeds and the target makes only a modest effort; and resistance, where the target opposes the request and avoids it or does a poor job. Commitment is the goal.
How do influence tactics link to power bases?
The Week 6 tutorial links rational persuasion to expert power, inspirational appeal, ingratiation and personal appeals to referent power, legitimacy and consultation to legitimate power, exchange to reward power, pressure to coercive power, and coalitions to network power.
What is framing in leadership language?
Framing is how a leader focuses and shapes the way a situation is seen. The same facts can be framed as an 80 per cent success rate or a 20 per cent failure rate and draw different reactions. Good framing considers what drives the audience, their emotions and whether they are given a chance to change.
Exam move
Build two tables from memory: the seven power bases split into formal and personal, and the nine influence tactics with the power base each links to. Then practise predicting outcomes: for any described request, name the tactic, the base and whether it is likely to win commitment, compliance or resistance. Draw the situational leadership grid with telling, selling, participating and delegating and the readiness that fits each.
Learn one framing example, such as describing the same project by its success or failure rate. In a case, the strongest answers explain why a leader's chosen tactic produced the reaction described, then recommend a tactic that draws on personal power.
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