Leveraging Power and Influence in Change Management

Introduction: Change and Leadership in Organizations

Change is the only inevitable factor within any organization in contemporary society. Changes that take place in relation to human resources and technology are so rapid that, to remain relevant, every organization must keep up to date with developments pertinent to its mission. However, for change to be effective — amid all the challenges that accompany the effort to institute it — there must be leadership that leverages power and is capable of influencing and managing change through to its conclusion. It should be noted that change is not a destination but a continuous process; therefore, change management must also be continuous rather than static.

Changes in organizations take place constantly and, in most cases, are unplanned and occur gradually. Planned organizational changes that occur on a large scale and affect the whole system are unusual. There is also revolutionary change — a major overhaul of an organization resulting in a modified or entirely new mission, along with changes in strategy, culture, and leadership — which is very rare. Such changes occur in spurts, leaps, and disruptions rather than in incremental or linear fashions. Most organizational changes, however, are evolutionary: typically an attempt to improve aspects of the organization that lead to higher performance, leaving the fundamental culture largely undisturbed.

This paper examines the various ways in which change can be managed, the types of changes that may be required, the challenges the change process may face, how to manage those challenges, the key theories connected to change, and — above all — the ways in which leaders leverage power to manage change effectively.

Leaders' Sources of Power and Ethical Considerations

Trait theory was originally concerned with the physical features of an individual; early claims held that leaders possessed distinct attributes such as height, body size, and stature. This view was subsequently set aside as research advanced (Fleenor, 2006). In its place, a new set of traits — including achievement drive, leadership motivation, honesty and integrity, self-confidence, cognitive ability, business knowledge, emotional maturity, and charisma — became the focus of leadership trait research (Scott, 2011). Behavioral theory emerged as a response to traditional trait theory, arguing that leadership qualities are internal rather than physical, portraying leaders as individuals with a well-developed positive ego, self-confidence, and high self-esteem. Together, trait characteristics, behavioral qualities, and bases of power play a central role in a leader's ability to influence organizational outcomes.

The most common bases of power available to leaders are coercive power, legitimate power, expert power, reward power, referent power, informational power, and connection power (Daugherty, 2013). Each is described below.

Legitimate power is acquired by virtue of holding a formal position, such as team leader. People comply with the direction of the individual because of the authority that position carries (Changing Minds, 2011).

Reward power stems from control over what others want or need, ranging from a congratulatory note to financial or material rewards. It can equally function as a punitive tool when rewards are withheld from non-performers or those who resist change.

Referent power arises when others wish to emulate a given individual. It is closely associated with charisma and personal appeal, and applies where the individual possesses outstanding qualities that make him or her the admired figure of the group.

Coercive power is technically the power to compel someone to act even against their wishes. Its primary aim is compliance, and a demonstration of the consequences of non-compliance is typically given before responsibility is delegated (Reference for Business, 2011). Coercive power sometimes intertwines with reward or expert power — for example, when a reward is withheld to coerce someone into performing a required duty.

Expert power derives from the possession of specialized knowledge or skills. Withholding such information or expertise can result in serious malfunctions or the stalling of organizational processes (Reference for Business, 2011).

Even as leaders draw on these power bases to influence change, ethical issues frequently arise. Under authoritarian leadership, leaders set clear expectations about what must be done, when, and how, with decisions made without input from team members. The ethical risk here is that employees may be directed toward actions they do not understand — ones that could potentially harm them — leading to withheld participation or below-standard performance.

Culture and Its Role in Organizational Change

Participatory leadership, whereby leaders work alongside their teams to generate ideas and solve problems, is generally more effective and inclusive (Magzan, 2011). However, it carries its own ethical risks, such as leaders abdicating direct responsibilities and placing undue burden on junior team members who feel compelled to fulfill those obligations for fear of reprimand.

In either context, ethical leadership is essential. Ethical leadership is based on the constant pursuit of positive relations in the place where one leads. It is not a single act but a continuous process, measurable in two ways: first, through the ethical quality of the decisions made — with due consideration for all those affected — and second, through the manner in which leaders conduct themselves daily, including their treatment of people, their attitude, the encouragement they offer, and the direction they set for the organization.

Changes within organizations do not happen in a vacuum; they occur within a social setting populated by people from diverse backgrounds. Many organizations take pride in the cultural diversity of their staff, which makes it imperative that those cultures are taken into account when implementing or even proposing fundamental organizational change. It is important that culture be actively leveraged in every change envisioned within an organization. However, as Agguire et al. (2013) note, culture remains one of the most consistently under-leveraged factors in change implementation — a striking paradox given that many organizations simultaneously profess great pride in their cultural diversity.

According to Edgar Schein, any meaningful planned learning, development, and change cannot be properly understood without recognizing culture as a root cause of resistance to change; therefore, cultural understanding is essential for all managers (Value Based Management, 2011). Leaders should use the power at their disposal to account for the prevailing cultural values of employees alongside the organization's own culture. In instituting changes, leadership should conduct interviews with employees to determine what cultural values they hold and how those values might be affected by the proposed changes — spanning personal beliefs, communally shared values, and religious perspectives. Where such cultural considerations are disregarded, the proposed change is likely to encounter significant resistance at the implementation stage.