Abstract
One simply must have the capability to gain action from others in order to have followers in any sense. This means that there can be no leadership without power , and power is an important theme in the leadership theory (Yukl in Leadership in Organizations. Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA, p. 644, 2010). Indeed, power can be considered a category of leadership action . After all, wherever there is a leader that instigates a certain response and this is followed by compliance there is a power dynamic at work, even if it varies in its extensive reach and intensive qualities. Moreover, attempting to induce F to do R through an R-cue necessarily implies the hope that F will respond. Hence, power may be considered a category of leadership action implied within the category of hope and is part of praxeology. Consequently, the discussion below employs the subjective theory of value to consider what power is, especially as it relates to authority and compliance, but also with regard to what it means to knowledge work.
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Jim Jones founded a religious group called the People’s Temple. In 1978 the group committed mass-suicide by consuming cyanide. Babies were fed cyanide by syringe, while older children and adults consumed it mixed with Kool-Aid. Those who tried to escape were shot. Over 900 people died within a few hours (Barker 1986).
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This conceptualization of the concentration of leadership power is close to the conceptualization of De Jouvenel (1949) for government power, namely that “the more completely Power can control the actions of the members of society and turn their resources to its uses, the greater is Power’s extent”. Similarly, Weber (1978, p. 212) defined “domination” as “the probability that certain specific commands (or all commands) will be obeyed by a given group of persons.”
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Similarly, De Jouvenel (1963, p. 100) considers “authority” a propensity to be respected, listened to and complied with.
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This idea of additive meanings is similar to Tarde’s proposal that desire and belief are the fundamental social qualities of any human action, whether an imitation or an innovation (Tarde 2011, Chap. V). These beliefs and desires are seen as either affirming or negating in a partial or complete manner and in differing degrees. Hence Tarde proposes various possibilities, such as: dogma + perceived proof = stronger dogma; belief + confirming belief = stronger belief; avarice + vanity = stronger vanity and avarice; love + passion for rhyming = more intense love and rhyming; desire + desire = stronger desire; belief + desire = stronger belief and desire (Tarde 2011, Chap. I).
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These include, but are not limited to Drive Reduction Theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Alderfer’s ERG Theory, McClelland’s needs for achievement and power, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory, Job Characteristics Theory (JCT), Self-Determination Theory, Expectancy Theory, Control Theory, Equity Theory, Goal Setting Theory, and 16 Basic Desires Theory.
- 6.
This inducing would be the role of R-cues.
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Tonsberg, T.A., Henderson, J.S. (2016). Power as a Category of Leadership Action. In: Understanding Leadership in Complex Systems. Understanding Complex Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40445-5_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40445-5_26
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