This document discusses different types of power in the workplace. It begins by defining power as the possession or exercise of authority or influence. It then outlines 7 common types of power found in the workplace: coercive, connection, expert, informational, legitimate, referent, and reward power. Each type is defined based on its source. The document encourages readers to do a self-assessment to identify what types of power they have. It stresses that power exists in everyone and should not be viewed negatively when used properly.

1. 7 Types of Power in the Workplace
by Sharlyn Lauby on March 4, 2010
There’s a quote by Margaret Thatcher that says, “Power is like being a lady…if you have
to tell people you are, you aren’t.” Personally, I find the study of power fascinating.
Dictionary.com defines power as “a person or thing that possesses or
exercises authority or influence”. So in essence when we use power; we’re utilizing our
authority to get something.
Everyone has power. Everyone. And, I don’t believe that power is a bad thing. The
issue becomes what kind of power a person has and how someone uses that power. Here
are some of the common types of power found in the workplace.
• Coercive power is associated with people who are in a position to punish others.
People fear the consequences of not doing what has been asked of them.
• Connection power is based upon who you know. This person knows, and has the
ear of, other powerful people within the organization.
• Expert power comes from a person’s expertise (duh!). This is commonly a person
with an acclaimed skill or accomplishment.
• A person who has access to valuable or important information possesses
informational power.
• Legitimate power comes from the position a person holds. This is related to a
person’s title and job responsibilities. You might also hear this referred to as
positional power.
• People who are well-liked and respected can have referent power.
• Reward power is based upon a person’s ability to bestow rewards. Those rewards
might come in the form of job assignments, schedules, pay or benefits.
Now, stop being modest and thinking to yourself…I don’t have any power. As you can
see, there are lots of different ways power can manifest itself. And for that reason, it’s
important to realize that power exists in all of us. It’s also possible that you have
different kinds of power with different groups or situations.

2. Now, the two biggest mistakes I see with people’s use of
power revolve around (1) trying to use power they don’t have and (2) using the wrong
kind of power to achieve results.
To help you identify your ‘power zone’, take a moment and think about how you try to
influence action from others. You could use the descriptions above as a pseudo self-
assessment. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-5 in each of the different kinds of power. With
1 being not at all characteristic of you and 5 being quite characteristic.
This can be a (sorry for the pun) powerful exercise. If you’re honest with yourself, I
hope you’ll find the results helpful. Not only for the way you tend to use power but in
the way others use power with you.
Characteristics of Nursing Power
In responding to our opening question, "How do you define power?" the nurse leaders
reflected on their own experiences and those of their nursing colleagues. They observed
that the power of the nurse lies in his or her knowledge and expertise related to the
technical, analytical, and interpersonal domains of nursing practice. This expertise, they
observed, is uniquely interwoven into a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort focused
solely on the patients and families that the nurse and care team serve and with whom they
partner. The nursing profession as a whole, they said, establishes power through the
practice of individual nurses who are engaged in patient care, administrative leadership,
teaching, and research. The actions, behaviors, and comportment of each nurse contribute
to or diminish the collective power that the profession of nursing holds in society, within
a given organization, and in practice.
The nurse leaders' observations regarding power underscored the power of individual
nurses and highlighted how the practice of a single individual can impact patients and
families, organizations, interdisciplinary colleagues, and the entire nursing profession.
Characteristics of a Powerful Professional Practice
Through our conversations with nurse leaders, we identified eight characteristics of
powerful nursing practice – practice in which the nurse acts powerfully on behalf of

3. patients and families and is recognized as powerful by others. The eight characteristics of
powerful nursing practice are listed in the Table and are described in more detail below.
1. Nurses with a powerful practice acknowledge their unique role in the provision of
patient centered and family centered care.
During our discussions, the nurse leaders observed that the nursing profession's
emphasis on partnering with and caring for patients and families distinguishes
nurses from other health professionals and positions them to be extremely
powerful. The power of clinical nurses is significantly enhanced by the
therapeutic, interpersonal relationships nurses establish with patients and families
and by a nurse's expertise in relieving the burden of disease and helping patients
and families cope with the continuum of health and illness. Nurses with a
powerful practice, said the nurse leaders, recognize and readily acknowledge their
unique contributions to patient care and realize that their relationships with
patients and families put them in a position to influence the care delivery setting.
"What is good for patients and families is good for nursing practice," observed
one nurse leader. This view, she explained, aligns nurses with the major priority
of health care institutions and positions them to advocate from the perspective of
patients and families – i.e., nurses listen to what patients and families need and
then base their advocacy efforts on the needs that are expressed. While their
ability to partner with patients and families puts nurses in a very powerful
position, it also implies significant responsibility, since it demands that nurses
continually validate their perceptions about what patients and families are telling
them and communicate this information to other members of the care team.
2. Nurses with a powerful practice commit to continuous learning through
education, skill development, and evidence-based practice.
All of the nurse leaders identified knowledge and expertise as an essential element
of the nurse's power base and underscored the importance of continuous learning.
Nurses who are powerful, they said, continuously seek new knowledge and base
their practice on evidence. The educational level of nurses was also viewed as an
essential element of a powerful professional practice. The nurse leaders agreed
that attaining a BSN is essential, and that more education generally leads to
greater power.
3. Nurses with a powerful practice demonstrate professional comportment and
recognize the critical nature of presence.
The nurse leaders noted that the professional comportment of nurses – their
behaviors and how they carry themselves – is a key component of nursing power.
Openness, transparency, authenticity, honesty, and integrity are some of the
characteristics that the nurse leaders associated with powerful nurses.
The nurse leaders also commented that the way nurses use language, particularly
how they refer to themselves, can enhance or detract from their professional

4. image. Nurses in powerful practices consistently acknowledge their own
professional status and that of others by using first and last names during
introductions, and by avoiding phrases, such as "I am only a nurse," or "She is just
a nurse," that diminish individual nurses and the profession of nursing as a whole.
The nurse, said the nurse leaders, brings a unique skill set, knowledge, and
perspective to the care team, executive table, research team, or faculty – a
contribution that nurses, themselves, must not doubt since self-confidence is
linked to power. That said, nurses must work to sustain their credibility by
maintaining competency and remaining current in their practice area and by
remembering that they are professionals who work with others to meet the best
interests of the patient and family.
4. Nurses with a powerful practice value collaboration and partner effectively with
colleagues in nursing and other disciplines.
Many of the nurse leaders cited the ability to collaborate with nursing colleagues
and those outside of nursing as a hallmark of effective nursing leadership and a
characteristic of powerful nursing practice. They noted that collaborating does not
mean acquiescing or giving in. Nor does it mean competing or engaging in
divisive actions and behaviors. Rather, it involves authentic, transparent
discussion, debate, and deliberation and striving to reach consensus-driven
outcomes. A powerful professional, said the nurse leaders, works well with
others, is fair, and has opinions and perspectives that are "sought out" by others.
Leading and participating on teams and partnering with others is essential to
sound, expert nursing practice and is a critical element of a nurse's power base.
5. Nurses with a powerful practice position themselves to influence decisions and
resource allocation.
A number of the nurse leaders observed that powerful nurses typically position
themselves to provide direction, input, and information about decisions affecting
their practice, including decisions related to resource allocation. Such nurses
recognize that decisions regarding staffing, technology to support practice,
salaries, wages, and other factors that affect the practice environment should be in
the hands of the nursing professionals who work in that environment; and if they
are not, powerful nurses question whether it is because the organization does not
value professional nursing practice.
6. Nurses with a powerful practice strive to develop an impeccable character; to be
inspirational, compassionate, and to have a credible, sought-after perspective.
A number of the nurse leaders observed that nurses with a powerful practice are
grounded by a set of values and principles that they freely share with others and
that guide their decisions and actions. The values and principles also help foster
compassion, make the nurses less fearful and more open to others' ideas, and help
nurses stay the course during times that may be tumultuous for patients, families,
and colleagues. Nurses who are open to others and who use a values-based
approach also find that others often seek out their perspective; this not only brings
the nurse more power, but is the antithesis of using power as a coercive strategy.

5. 7. Nurses with a powerful practice recognize that the role of the nurse leader is to
pave the way for nurses' voices to be heard and to help novice nurses develop into
powerful professionals.
Many of the nurse leaders noted that helping novice nurses develop a voice that is
based on professional credibility and expertise is a responsibility of nurse leaders
at the unit, practice, program, and institutional levels. Powerful nurses, they said,
recognize this and know that by fostering a nurse's professional development they
promote the power of the individual nurse, enhance their own power, and
strengthen the power of nursing as a profession. Powerful nurses in leadership
positions also avoid using phrases such as, "My nursing staff," or "My faculty."
Although unintentional, phrases like these suggest that a nurse is subservient to
others and can diminish the professional stature of the individual.
8. Nurses with a powerful practice evaluate the power of nursing and the nursing
department in organizations they enter by assessing the organization's mission
and values and its commitment to enhancing the power of diverse perspectives.
Many of the nurse leaders observed that nurses with a powerful practice tend to
seek out and work in environments that support nurses and nursing practice, and
that are led by strong nurse leaders who are themselves respected and valued by
the institution. Such organizations place a high value on nurses and nursing care
and, by design, uphold and contribute to the power of nurses that practice within
them.
All of the nurse leaders agreed that institutions that value diversity and respect are more
likely to value nursing and are stronger organizations as a result. They noted that in
organizations where the power of nursing is diminished, nurse leaders and nursing staff
must develop strategic plans that promote respect and diversity, and must work to elevate
the nursing profession and nursing practice through leadership development, establishing
a strong research base, and creating programs that foster the professional development of
nurses at all levels.
During our discussions, the nurse leaders described their experiences in their current
places of work and compared and contrasted these to their experience in general and in
other organizations. While all but one nurse leader described their current nursing
department and nurse leaders as powerful, perceptions of the power of nursing seemed to
vary across organizations. For example, in the comprehensive cancer center where "the
cure of cancer through research" was the dominant mission, nurses felt less powerful than
in the academic medical center where "patient care" was the prominent mission and
nurses' role in the around-the-clock care of patients gave them greater power as a group
and as individuals (this was particularly true for nurses who had established themselves
as expert, compassionate professionals). Nurse leaders from the university/college setting
noted that the power base of nurses in academic settings depends on the dean of the
school of nursing and on the mission of the college/university. These two factors, they
said, play a significant role in determining the nursing school's esteem and credibility
within the organization.

6. Types and Sources of Power
Formal Power – power often tied to a formal position where the responsibilities of that
position includes the ability to influence or make decisions affecting a community
Informal Power – power that is not tied to any position, often resulting from personal
characteristics. This power allows the person/group to influence and/or represent a
community without formal decision making.
Sources of formal or informal power:
Resources – money, knowledge, skills, materials
Example – A local foundation can decide what issues and organizations should
receive the foundation’s resources.
Elected or appointed position
Example – A city council member can vote on decisions affecting citywide
policy.
Community support and/or representation
Example – A well respected youth organizing group has the support of and
can mobilize hundreds of local youth to speak out on an issue
Others’ perception of power
Example – A local activist regularly tells decision-makers of his ability to
mobilize large numbers in his community. Although this activist has limited
support within the community, decision-makers often listen to and support
his ideas.
Personal Power – power resulting directly from the persons or persons representing a
group
Sources of personal power:
Expertise – knowledge, skills and experience relevant to the task
Example – A Youth Innovation Fund Board’s extensive understanding of
pressing issues in the community.
Personal attraction – characteristics associated with likeability (“charisma” and
ability to inspire)
Example – A teacher’s passion and inspirational descriptions about the
impact service-learning has had in her classroom
Effort – dependability and evidence of higher than expected time commitment

7. Example – A Youth Innovation Fund grantee’s demonstrated hard work and
commitment to addressing a local issue
Legitimacy – actions clearly display a particular value commonly held among partners
Example – A recently elected mayor’s decision to implement the youth voice
agenda on which she campaigned, as soon as she is in office.
Positional Power – power resulting directly from the position and tasks performed by a
particular group
Sources of positional power:
Centrality – access to information in a broad and diverse communication network
Example – A site coordinator’s ongoing communication with young people,
adults, local decision makers, community organizers, funders, other Youth
Fund sites, etc.
Flexibility – ability to improvise and innovate
Example – A Youth Innovation Fund Board’s ability to identify and address
the most pressing issues in a community
Visibility – the number of “influential” people with whom a group interacts
Example – A Youth Innovation Fund Site’s ability to interact with diverse
influentials as a result of access to influential groups held by the various
consortium partners
Relevance – how much a group’s work is connected to larger community’s priorities
Example – A Youth Innovation Fund Youth Board addressing an issue
identified as a pressing concern of youth and adults in the community