Power is the ability to impose your will on others, whereas influence is the ability to deeply affect behaviors and beliefs.

What is influence and power?

Difference Between Power and Influence



Power is capacity to get others to act based on positional authority that is exercised over others; often leading to resentment. Influence is the ability to modify how a person develops, behaves, or thinks based on relationships and persuasion; often leading to respect.

Is influence stronger than power?

Generally, influence is better than power, but sometimes power is appropriate and necessary. Leadership coaching can help leaders understand how to build positive influence and employ it in the achievement of organizational goals.

Is power a form of influence?





Power is the ability to influence the behavior of others with or without resistance by using a variety of tactics to push or prompt action. Power is the ability to get things done. People with power are able to influence others behavior to achieve a goal or objective.

What is power and how is it different from authority and influence?

Power is the capacity of a person to influence others and alter their actions, beliefs, and behaviors. However, it’s important to note that there is a difference between power vs. influence. Authority is the legitimate power that a person or group is granted to practice over others within an organization.

What are examples of power and influence?

A simplistic example of power and influence would be, a mother with the power to punish her child, by taking away the IPod, has the ability to influence her child’s decision to do or not do their chores.

How can I have power and influence?



Here are some ways that you can increase your power as a leader:

  1. Become an expert by increasing your knowledge. …
  2. Maximize your current level of power. …
  3. Require more of yourself. …
  4. Harness your influence over others positively. …
  5. Exercise your power.




What are the similarities between power and influence?

Power and influence both refer to naturally possessed traits that follow as a consequence of authority. The difference lies in how these two approaches to leadership encourage a team to complete their work.

What do you mean by power?

1 : possession of control, authority, or influence over others. 2 : a nation that has influence among other nations a foreign power. 3 : the ability to act or produce an effect It’s in your power to change things. 4 : the right to do something the president’s powers.

Have power and influence over others are called?

supremacy. noun. a situation in which one person, group, or thing has more power or influence than any other.

What is an example of power?



Power is defined as the ability to act or have influence over others. An example of power is the strength needed to run five miles. An example of power is the authority a local government has to collect taxes. A country, nation, or other political unit having great influence or control over others.

How do leaders use power and influence?

Power leadership uses sources of power instead of influence to motivate others to act. With power leadership, you can influence how others act, but it won’t necessarily change what people believe and how committed they are. Power leadership also tends to centralize power and decision-making to one person.

How does power and influence affect relationships?

Power dynamics can and often do affect interpersonal relationships. In relationships that are strong and healthy, power is generally equal or close to equal. Partners may not have equivalent kinds of power: one partner may have more financial resources while the other has more social connections.

How do the power and influence affect the individual?

The possession of power transforms individuals psychologically, shapes their behaviour, and produces an enduring effect on individual status and influence with teammates. Power casts a long shadow on the mental state of either powerful or powerless actors.

Who defined power as influence process?



What gives a person or group influence over others? More than 50 years ago social scientists John French and Bertrand Raven (1959) proposed five sources of power within organizations: legitimate, reward, coercive, expert, and referent.

What are the 3 types of power?

Power refers to the ability to have one’s will carried out despite the resistance of others. According to Max Weber, the three types of legitimate authority are traditional, rational-legal, and charismatic.

What’s the opposite of influence?

to have no effect

Image courtesy Wikimedia. To influence is to have an effect on people that helps to determine their actions, behavior, perceptions, or attitudes. The opposite of influence is to have no effect.

What are the 4 types of power?

Questioning Four Types of Power

  • Expert: power derived from knowledge or skill.
  • Referent: power derived from a sense of identification others feel toward you.
  • Reward: power derived from an ability to reward others.
  • Coercive: power derived from fear of punishment by others.

Why is influence more important than power?



Power is the ability to impose your will on others, whereas influence is the ability to deeply affect behaviors and beliefs. As a leader, you’ll need to use your power once in a while to steer the ship. But when you use influence to lead, you’ll slowly build deeper trust and loyalty with your team.

Which is more important power or authority?

A person in authority is often powerful, but power is not necessary for authority. Authority is important for many hierarchical systems and organizations to operate smoothly and quickly.

Is it more important to have credibility or power?

If it is not acknowledged, though, power may be still operating beneath the surface. Power is partially defined by position descriptions and organization charts, but that is not the only factor. Power requires credibility and influence.

Have power and influence over others are called?

supremacy. noun. a situation in which one person, group, or thing has more power or influence than any other.

What are the 3 types of power?



Power refers to the ability to have one’s will carried out despite the resistance of others. According to Max Weber, the three types of legitimate authority are traditional, rational-legal, and charismatic.

What’s the opposite of influence?

to have no effect

Image courtesy Wikimedia. To influence is to have an effect on people that helps to determine their actions, behavior, perceptions, or attitudes. The opposite of influence is to have no effect.

What are the 4 types of power?



Questioning Four Types of Power

  • Expert: power derived from knowledge or skill.
  • Referent: power derived from a sense of identification others feel toward you.
  • Reward: power derived from an ability to reward others.
  • Coercive: power derived from fear of punishment by others.

What are the 7 types of power?

7 Types of Power in Leadership

  • Powerful leaders are usually extremely persuasive. In general, power is connected to credibility and influence. …
  • Legitimate Power. …
  • Coercive Power. …
  • Expert Power. …
  • Informational Power. …
  • Power of Reward. …
  • Connection Power. …
  • Referent Power.


What are examples of power?

Power is defined as the ability to act or have influence over others. An example of power is the strength needed to run five miles. An example of power is the authority a local government has to collect taxes. A country, nation, or other political unit having great influence or control over others.

What do you mean by power?

1 : possession of control, authority, or influence over others. 2 : a nation that has influence among other nations a foreign power. 3 : the ability to act or produce an effect It’s in your power to change things. 4 : the right to do something the president’s powers.

What is a spiritual power?

This is very different to ‘soft power’, or in other words — spiritual power. This power is the power of love, of humility, of the power to offer compassion, the power to forgive. This spiritual power cannot influence by force — it can only influence by virtue. It is the power that uplifts and transforms.

What are the types of power?

In 1959, social psychologists John French and Bertram Raven identified five bases of power:

  • Legitimate.
  • Reward.
  • Expert.
  • Referent.
  • Coercive.


What is power mean in life?

They see power as a position or title, which comes with authority and control, and a belief in the form of supremacy over others. Others believe that real power comes from “inside-out.” They maintain that power is the ability of each individual to cultivate by themselves.

What power does to a person?

Power also stimulates a part of the brain in the prefrontal cortex that psychologists refer to as the brain’s executive function. Studies have shown participants to be better able to control their attention, plan future behavior, and take goal-oriented actions after they are given power over the outcome of others.

How can I get power in my life?

The trick is to connect with it and own it.

  1. Follow these 10 steps to own your personal power.
  2. Acknowledge and declare your ambition. …
  3. Replace negative self-talk with positive affirmations. …
  4. Advocate for yourself and others. …
  5. Ask for help when you need it. …
  6. Speak up and share your opinions and ideas. …
  7. Acknowledge your fears.