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UNIV 392
and suppression surface (at least for myself, that is). Synonymous to power are words such as
dominion, supremacy, and control, which are words that suggest the individual who yields power
is motivated by self-interest. Yet the idea of power in leadership extends beyond this
authoritative definition, with words such as potential, capability, and competence also falling
within the scope of the word as well. A useful way of understanding power is by analyzing the
varying ways in which individuals can obtain and hold power. The manners in which an
individual can demonstrate power within leadership include legitimate, reward, coercive,
The areas listed immediately above are all ways in which an individual can take on a
position of power. Although each type of power is slightly obvious based on the name,
categorizing the types is useful in understanding each, with the categories being position and
personal (Northouse, 8). Positional power includes legitimate, reward, and coercive. Positional
power is the manner in which I think most of us view power, in that it consists of a title or
hierarchy of sorts that gives an individual authority. Personal power includes the categories of
referent and expert. Personal power is the idea that an individual is respected based off his/her
I would like to take a moment to discuss the areas in which I have seen the most effective
leaders in my life. Based on my experience, great leaders, at their core, hold the qualities of
personal power. That is, they are respected and appreciated by those around them (referent
power), and they are knowledgeable in the area that they lead in (expert power). I want to start
explaining why I believe this by introducing a teacher I had my senior year of high school. He
obviously held areas of positional power, in that he was our instructor (legitimate power), he was
in charge of our grades (reward power), and he could send us to the principles office (coercive
power). And yet, he failed to hold any aspects of personal power. He was not very
knowledgeable in the realm of Calculus (the class in which he taught), as he constantly messed
up problems he demonstrated, and he was rude and condescending. To say the least, I did not
meet anyone during my time in high school who appreciated him as an instructor or as a leader.
In the fall semester of 2016, I had the opportunity to be a Peer Advisor and work
alongside an Academic Advisor in UNIV 101. The academic advisor I worked with undoubtedly
held both referent and expert power within her position, in that she approached her students with
patience and kindness and was certainly aware of how to help first-year students in their
transition. Of course, she also held areas of positional power as well, in that she had a position
of authority on campus and had the ability to pass or fail her students. The difference between
the academic advisor and my high school teacher was that the academic advisor was an excellent
instructor and leader for her students and for myself as well. During my personal time with
students, they would only ever say kind things about her and how much they appreciated having
her as an instructor (and trust me, they let me know the instructors they did not appreciate). I
believe this was due to the fact that the academic advisor exercised her areas of expert and
referent power most prominently within her position. And although both my high school calculus
teacher and the academic advisor held positional power, I believe it was the areas of personal
power that made my academic advisor a successful leader and my high school teacher fall short.
In sum, I think being a successful leader is analogous to having both expert and referent
power. Without knowledge and without respect, leadership is not an option. Based off of the
experiences I have had in my life, I have learned that people most value those they can trust and
appreciate.