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Sources of Power Rockwood Leadership Institute

The document outlines various sources of power, including personal, co-power, collaborative, positional, expert, cultural, referred, obstructive, ideological, institutional, structural, and transcendent power. Each type of power is defined by its characteristics and the contexts in which it operates, highlighting the complexities of influence and authority in different settings. The document emphasizes the importance of understanding these power dynamics for effective leadership and social change.

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564 views2 pages

Sources of Power Rockwood Leadership Institute

The document outlines various sources of power, including personal, co-power, collaborative, positional, expert, cultural, referred, obstructive, ideological, institutional, structural, and transcendent power. Each type of power is defined by its characteristics and the contexts in which it operates, highlighting the complexities of influence and authority in different settings. The document emphasizes the importance of understanding these power dynamics for effective leadership and social change.

Uploaded by

suryanb2309
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SOURCES OF POWER

Rockwood Leadership Institute

1. PERSONAL POWER: grounded in energy, vision, ability to communicate,


capacity to influence, emotional intelligence, charisma, psychological savvy,
etc.

2. CO-POWER: the commitment to, and process of, intentionally lifting up the
power of those around us, including your own personal power, through
modeling, validating and providing feedback.

3. COLLABORATIVE POWER: comes from our ability to join and align energy
in partnership with others. May be in pairs, teams, organizations,
communities, coalitions and movements. It is collective power derived from
authentic inter-relationships.

4. POSITIONAL POWER: a product of organizational authority, hierarchy,


status or position. It is often unseen by those with the power, and is usually
obvious to those without it.

5. EXPERT POWER: comes from wisdom, knowledge, experience and skills


(e.g. someone is widely respected because of their skills as an organizer, or
because they have many years of experience).

6. CULTURAL POWER: the norms, manners, language, values, morals,


history and ancestry often upheld by media and other dominant institutions.
This can be an expression of conditioning and privilage regarding race/sexual
orientation/class/gender/age. As with positional power, this is often invisible
to the dominant group. To those with less power, it is often clear, real and
lived. From the perspective of under-represented communities, cultural
power can be a consciousness and connection to culture that serves to
empower.

7. REFERRED POWER: comes from connections to others (e.g. a staff


member without formal positional power may have power based on their
long-term relationship with the executive director).
8. OBSTRUCTIVE POWER: stems from the ability to oppose, coerce or block.
Can be implicit, threatened or demonstrated; those without other sources of
power may depend on it (e.g. non-violent social action sit-ins, filibusters, etc.)
Many activists are experts in its use.

9. IDEOLOGICAL POWER: comes from an idea, vision or analysis. Victor


Hugo wrote, “Nothing can withstand the power of an idea whose time has
come.” It can be an original idea of an individual, or an ideal such as
“democracy,” “liberation,” or “justice.”

10. INSTITUTIONAL POWER: is economic, legal and political power directly


wielded by institutions (e.g. corporations, the military, police departments, or
by one of your organizations). This power exists apart from the individuals
who work there at any one time- it is derived from name recognition,
membership, skills, resources, etc.

11. STRUCTURAL POWER: is covertly or implicitly exercised through the


dominant systems and institutions of society. (e.g. the resistance to
alternative medicine from the AMA & insurance providers; racism expressed
and maintained through policies of red-lining by lending institutions).

12. TRANSCENDENT POWER: comes from a connection to something


greater than oneself. Can be derived from a lived connection to spirit, nature,
history, lineage, etc.

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