Power is an individual’s ability to influence environments and people within environments. There are different methods in which leaders gain power, which can be highly organized and/or extremely multifaceted. With power, a leader may motivate a group by providing authority to enact change within an organization toward a directed goal. For some leaders, having a variety of ways to access power may produce greater effectiveness for the organization. Just as leaders may work hard to gain power, leaders also must work hard to use power appropriately in order to maintain it and avoid losing it within organizations.
For this Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources and the case study “Organizational Power and Politics” on page 174 of Lussier