Power and Politics in Organizations

Peer Influence

Peer influence occurs all the time. But, to be effective within organizations, peers need to be willing to influence each other without being destructively competitive. There are times to support each other and times to challenge - the end goal is to create better decisions and results for the organization and to hold each other accountable. Executives spend a great deal of their time working to influence other executives to support their initiatives. Research shows that across all functional groups of executives, finance or human resources as an example, rational persuasion is the most frequently used influence tactic.

OB Toolbox: Getting Comfortable With Power

Now that you've learned a great deal about power and influence within organizations, consider asking yourself how comfortable you are with the three statements below:

• Are you comfortable saying, "I want to be powerful" to yourself? Why or why not?
• Are you comfortable saying, "I want to be powerful" to someone else? Why or why not?
• Are you comfortable having someone say, "You are powerful" to you? Why or why not?
  

Discomfort with power reduces your power. Experts know that leaders need to feel comfortable with power. Those who feel uncomfortable with power send those signals out unconsciously. If you feel uncomfortable with power, consider putting the statement in a shared positive light by saying, "I want to be powerful so that we can accomplish this goal".