'Power' has been differentiated by numerous authors and practitioners. Amitai Etzioni was among the first to describe individuals who are able to induce other individuals to comply and take action because of their position in the organization as having position power: those who derive their power from their followers are considered to have personal power. Some are skilled enough to have both. Position power is the extent to which those people to whom managers' report is willing to delegate authority and responsibility to them. So position power tends to flow down in an organization. This is not to say that leaders do not have any impact on how much position power they accrue. They certainly do. The confidence and trust they develop with the people around them will often determine the willingness of upper management to delegate to them. Remember. though. that whatever power is delegated downward can also be taken back. Personal power is the extent to which followers respect, feel good about, and are committed to the leader. They believe that their own needs and goals will be recognized. supported, and facilitated by their leader. As such personal power in an organisational setting comes from below - from the followers - and so flows up in an organisation. Personal power is not inherent in the leader. If it were. managers with personal power could take over any department and have the same commitment and rapport they had in their last department. Personal power is a day-to-day phenomenon. Personal power is a critical part of having and demonstrating emotional intelligence.
When individuals in an organization ask others to comply with their instructions, it is identified as:
