Strategies for increasing supervisors’ personal power through informal channels

Who’s the boss?

White paper | 4.10.12

Emily Durham

Contents

Executive summary Personal biography The effects of power within organisations Sources of organisational power Developing the personal power of supervisors Recruitment approaches Development approaches Minimising the drawbacks of organisational power Reference

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Emily Durham | Strategies for increasing supervisors’ personal power through informal channels

Executive summary
This paper highlights the influence of power within the workplace. Different sources of power are discussed, as well as the consequences of having employees who possess more informal power than their supervisors. Recommendations are made to increase supervisors’ levels of personal power, which can be implemented at both the recruitment stage and through development of supervisors.

Personal biography
Emily Durham has a BA, majoring in Psychology and English, and is currently working towards gaining a BA (Hons) with a focus in Industrial, Work and Organisational Psychology.

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Emily Durham | Strategies for increasing supervisors’ personal power through informal channels

The effects of power within organisations
Power can be defined as the ability to overcome adversity in the attempt to influence others’ behaviour and opinions, with the intention of obtaining desired results. 1 Organisational power merits attention, as those with the ability to impact colleagues and work outcomes have the potential to be a dominant force within the workplace. While many of the advantages of being powerful tend to be personal, for example encountering fewer social constraints from others2 or receiving more helpful behaviours from colleagues, 3 there are nonetheless