The Truth About Managing People, Third Edition

Truth 29. Make Others Dependent on You

Power is the capacity for a leader to influence the behavior of another individual or group of individuals so that they’ll do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. And as we’ll show, effective leaders build a power base by making others dependent on them.

How do you make others dependent on you? There are two primary sources of power: your position in the organization and your personal characteristics.

In formal organizations, managerial positions come with authority—the right to give orders and expect the orders to be obeyed. In addition, a managerial position typically comes with the discretion to allocate rewards and enact punishments. Managers can give out desirable work assignments, appoint people to ...