6 Types of Power in Leadership

Every leader wields power, but not all power looks the same. The way you influence your team, drive decisions, and create change depends on which types of powers in leadership you use in the workplace. Effective leaders strategically combine multiple types of leadership powers to match different situations and employees.

French and Raven's foundational research identified 6 distinct sources of power that leaders can practice.

Here are 6 types of power in leadership each with unique advantages and potential disadvantages:

1. Legitimate Power: The Foundation of Formal Authority

Legitimate power comes from your official position within an organization's hierarchy. When someone reports to you, follows your directives because you're their manager, or defers to your decisions based on your title, they're responding to legitimate power.

This formal authority provides structure and clarity in organizations. Team members understand reporting relationships, decision-making chains, and accountability structures. However, legitimate power alone doesn't inspire performance or innovation all the time.

This limitation becomes apparent when leaders over-rely on "because I'm the boss" reasoning. While position grants you the right to make decisions, it doesn't automatically earn you respect, trust, or enthusiastic followership. Leaders should use legitimate power as a foundation but build upon it with other power sources.

Consider how your legitimate power intersects with your leadership roles. Your formal position creates expectations, but your effectiveness depends on how you fulfill those roles beyond mere authority.

2. Reward Power: Motivating Through Incentives

Reward power centers on your ability to provide benefits, recognition, or positive outcomes that others value. This includes obvious rewards like salary increases, promotions, and bonuses but extends to less tangible benefits such as flexible schedules, interesting assignments, public recognition, or professional development opportunities.

The effectiveness of reward power depends entirely on understanding what your team members actually value. A promotion might motivate one person while another prefers work-life balance. Some employees crave public recognition; others find it uncomfortable and prefer private acknowledgment.

You can learn more about creating effective reward systems through our employee empowerment strategies.

3. Coercive Power: The Double-Edged Sword of Consequences

Coercive power involves the ability to punish, discipline, or create negative consequences for non-compliance within a team or organization. This ranges from formal disciplinary actions and performance improvement plans to more subtle forms like withholding opportunities, assigning undesirable tasks, or expressing disapproval.

While coercive power can produce immediate compliance, it often comes at a significant cost to team morale, creativity, and long-term performance. This type of fear-based motivation typically results in minimum acceptable effort rather than excellence. Team members may follow instructions precisely but avoid taking initiative or suggesting improvements.

The most problematic aspect of coercive power is its tendency to create adversarial relationships. When team members view their leader primarily as a source of potential punishment, they're less likely to share problems early, admit mistakes, or collaborate openly which are essential for high-performing teams.

However, coercive power does have appropriate applications. Clear consequences for unethical behavior, safety violations, or persistent poor performance are necessary for maintaining standards and protecting the team. The key is using coercive power judiciously and always in service of team success rather than personal dominance.

4. Expert Power: Leading Through Knowledge and Competence

Expert power flows from your knowledge, skills, experience, and demonstrated competence in areas relevant to your team's work. When team members seek your advice, trust your technical judgment, or defer to your expertise, you're exercising expert power.

This power source often feels the most natural and comfortable for leaders who've been promoted based on technical excellence. Your deep understanding of the work, industry trends, and best practices provides credibility that can't be faked or assigned through organizational charts.

Expert power becomes particularly valuable during times of uncertainty or change. When facing new challenges, team members naturally gravitate toward leaders who demonstrate genuine competence and can provide reliable guidance. This power source also tends to be more durable than position-based power since expertise travels with you regardless of your formal role.

The challenge with expert power lies in staying current and relevant. Industries evolve rapidly, and yesterday's expertise may become today's outdated knowledge. Additionally, as you move into more senior leadership roles, your expert power may need to shift from technical expertise to leadership skills and strategic thinking.

5. Referent Power: The Influence of Personal Connection

Referent power emerges from the personal relationships, trust, and admiration you build with team members. When people follow your lead because they respect you as a person, believe in your character, or want to maintain a positive relationship with you, you're leveraging referent power.

This power source often develops gradually through consistent behavior, authentic communication, and genuine care for team members' success and well-being. Referent power manifests when team members go above and beyond not because they have to, but because they want to support you and the shared mission.

The strength of referent power lies in its ability to inspire voluntary commitment rather than mere compliance. Team members who respect their leader personally are more likely to embrace challenging goals, persist through difficulties, and maintain high standards even when not directly supervised.

Building referent power requires authenticity and emotional intelligence. It develops through consistent demonstration of your values, reliable support for team members, and honest communication even in difficult situations.

However, referent power can become problematic if it leads to favoritism or blurs professional boundaries. The goal is building respectful professional relationships that enhance team performance, not personal friendships that compromise objectivity or fairness.

6. Informational Power: Leveraging Access and Knowledge

Informational power stems from your access to valuable information, data, or knowledge that others need to perform their roles effectively. This includes strategic information about organizational direction, market trends, customer feedback, or operational data that helps team members make better decisions.

This power source becomes particularly important in matrix organizations or cross-functional teams where formal authority may be limited. Your ability to provide context, share strategic direction, or connect team members with needed resources can significantly influence outcomes even without direct reporting relationships.

The real strength of informational power comes from sharing knowledge openly, not guarding it. When leaders withhold information to stay in control, it usually backfires — team members either find other ways to get what they need or start feeling frustrated and disconnected.

Developing Your Leadership Power Portfolio

Building effective leadership skills requires consciously developing multiple power sources rather than defaulting to whatever feels most natural or comfortable. This development process involves both self-assessment and intentional skill building.

Start by honestly evaluating your current power sources. Which types do you rely on most heavily? Where do you feel most confident and effective? What power sources do you avoid or underutilize? This assessment helps identify gaps to address.

For comprehensive leadership development opportunities, explore our top leadership development programs that address multiple aspects of leadership effectiveness.