Effective Leadership Is Not the Same as Formal Authority

There are six bases of interpersonal power, or the ability to effect change.

• Legitimate power: inherent in a position, such as a supervisor’s job title
• Reward power: ability to grant bonuses, raises, promotions, and privileges
• Coercive power: power to punish via termination, demotion, undesirable scheduling, or unpleasant assignments
• Referent power: based on our identification with leaders and the intrinsic desire to follow their example
• Expert power: belief that the leader has a deeper understanding of relevant topics and "knows best"
• Informational Influence/power: adds an element of learning