Question

Your long-time co-worker and your new manager often disagree about how best to implement a health project, yet most of your colleagues prefer the personality of your co-worker, and often follow his lead even at the risk of offending your manager. Your co-worker likely possesses more of which kind of power than your manager?

a) Referent power
b) Expert power
c) Reward power
d) Positional power

Answer 1

In the given scenario, the long-time co-worker demonstrates more referent power due to their likability and the loyalty they inspire in colleagues, despite the new manager's positional power. Option a.

Step-by-step explanation:

Your long-time co-worker likely possesses more referent power than your new manager. Referent power arises from the charisma and interpersonal skills of a leader, which wins the loyalty and admiration of others. This sort of power is based on the attractiveness and likability of the leader, resulting in followers who identify with or want to be like the leader. In contrast, your new manager might have positional power, given their formal authority and title within the organizational hierarchy, but is lacking the personal influence that your colleague has.

Managerial power is essential to job satisfaction and career growth, as a manager has a significant influence on your opportunities for skill development and recognition within an organization. However, despite a manager's positional power, collegial relationships and a cooperative approach can have a positive impact on team dynamics and organizational success, making referent power quite effective even without formal authority.

In the given scenario, where team members are more inclined to follow a colleague's lead over the manager's, it suggests a case where personality and interpersonal relationships play a critical role in the distribution of influence and authority, which highlights the shifting nature of power dynamics in modern workplaces.