What is the difference between power and leadership in an organization

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Issues of leadership and power have always worried humanity. Today, competent leaders of organizations, teachers, representatives of all branches of science, production, and management are thinking about their ratio.

In order to understand the difference between leadership and power in an organization, you need to understand the meaning of these terms.

Power is the ability to impose one's will, influence the behavior and activities of people, organize any processes, regardless of the approval or disapproval of subordinates. Power can be different: managerial, political executive, etc. But the goal of any power is to force people to obey the will of the leader. Leaders can use different methods to exercise their rights to lead. Decent and literate most often use stimulation, interest, less honest ones are able to retain their own power.use provocations, extortion, threats, authoritarian methods of leadership. Some groups (especially gangsters or paramilitaries) use open violence and threats to maintain their own power.

However, the essence of power does not change from this.

The chief, the leader is most often appointed by higher management. If we are talking about state power, then it can be elective, sometimes inherited. In the history of both states and organizations (even modern ones) there were cases when power was seized. In state structures, these are usually armed or revolutionary coups, in organizations, especially today - raiding.

Power and leadership in an organization may belong to one person, but more often leaders and leaders are different people.

A leader is a person who enjoys universal trust and respect, who is able to lead people, influence their worldview, actions, behavior. In the system of interpersonal relations, such people are subordinated.

Leadership in an organization can be formal. Formal leaders most often occupy leadership positions, they are invested with power, but do not have authority in the organization, or their authority is not high enough. Formal leaders are obeyed because they are invested with legitimate authority.

Informal leadership in an organization can be held by anyone with general or majority authority. An informal leader must be fair, be able to influence people and theirworldview with the help of their abilities, skills.

Sometimes it happens that a leader appointed from above can become a real, not a formal leader.

Leadership in an organization is one of the most powerful factors in its success, development and improvement of everything new, advanced, progressive, not yet included in the list of planned, mandatory activities.

Today every educated and thoughtful leader:

- Knows that the greatest benefit and efficiency of the organization, whether it is an ordinary small office or a large enterprise, will bring the unity (relationship, mutual understanding) of the leader and the informal leader of the team.

- Wisely displays his power and formal leadership in the organization. The balance of power is such management, in which the demands of the management are enough to achieve the goals, but not so much as to cause discontent or open protest of employees.

Finally, he realizes that lower-level employees are also vested with power, albeit informal. For example, the activities of the boss largely depend on the competence of his secretary or other employees. After all, it is these people who have the necessary information, the necessary skills and abilities.