Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes
As leaders we have potential to exercise control over our followers. We’re able to exercise this control because our followers perceive us to in some way have “power”.
There are two main sources of the power that we have, though having “one ring to rule them all” is not one of those sources. The power that we have comes from both the position that we hold in an organization (Position Power) and the person that we are (Personal Power).
Position Power
Position power is something that is given to us by virtue of the standing we have in [...]
Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes
In a previous article I looked at the relationship between Influence, Power and Authority. Since these three things are some of the biggest reasons why someone would follow us as leaders, it’s important for us to understand how our use of influence, power and authority creates different responses from our followers.
There are three responses or consequences that we can get from followers when we try to exercise control over their actions: commitment, compliance and resistance. These responses happen along a continuum and it’s best to look at them this way.
Commitment
Much has been written about leadership [...]
Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes
We all know that leaders lead. That’s what they do. But what makes someone follow a leader? Clearly, there are reasons why someone would follow a leader.
In reality there are many reasons why we would follow a leader. There could be any number of things about a given leader that makes us want to follow him or her. But at the most basic level, it comes down to Influence, Power and Authority.
Many times we end up using these three terms interchangeably. But I see them as three distinct things. I see Influence, Power and Authority [...]
Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes
I’m devoting this week’s articles to author Gary B. Cohen’s recent book, Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions. In previous articles I reviewed the book and shared an interview with Gary. Today’s article is a guest post from Gary on how Just Ask Leadership intersects with Reflection Leadership.
With so many organizations, governments, and industries imperiled by poor decision-making, leadership has come under question. And justifiably so. The knee-jerk response in times of crisis is for leaders to command more and ask less—to entrust decision-making to fewer and fewer people. But [...]
Reading time: 4 – 7 minutes
I’m devoting this week’s articles to author Gary B. Cohen’s recent book, Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions. In a previous article I reviewed the book. Today’s article is part two of this two-part interview with Gary. The first part of this interview can be found here.
Describe some specific ways that you have used Just Ask Leadership with your clients.
When describing an incident that left them or their coworkers feeling aggrieved, my coaching clients usually provide a sequence of actions and statements. “If you’d asked them a question instead, what [...]
