team performance waslower. The second experiment replicated these findings and further demonstrated the important role ofteam membersâ reactions to leadersâ behavior. Specifically
although subjective feelings of power increasedleadersâ autocratic tendencies
their formal role determined team membersâ willingness to give in to them.The third experiment replicated the findings from Studies 1 and 2 with respect to formal leaders. This studyalso found that teams with powerful formal leaders reported higher levels of their leader talking
lower teamopen communication
and lower team performance. This only occurred when leaders were not reminded ofhow important their team member input was for success. When leaders were reminded that all teammembers had the potential to contribute to team success
these effects did not emerge. These findings showthat a leadersâ awareness of the importance of their team members motivates them to overcome theirtendency to discount othersâ perspectives and input. In other words
the negative effect of power on teamopen communication is eliminated. A summary of these research findings is shown in Figure 7.2.Figure 7.2 Power and Talking Affects Team Communication and PerformanceDiscussion Questions:1. Why do you think that being assigned as a formal leader results in the person dominating teamdiscussions?2. Have you ever held back communication in a team when the leader behaved autocratically? Explainwhy the leaderâs amount of talking suppresses team membersâ open communication.3. How can organizations implement the idea that reminding a leader of the importance of team opencommunication is important for team performance?Source: Tost
L. P.
Gino
F.
& Larrick
R. P. (2013). When power makes others speechless: The negativeimpact of leader power on team performance. Academy of Management Journal
56(5)
1465â1486.Structural power comes from a personâs position and the communication networks they arein. This view of power suggests that sometimes power arises from âbeing in the right placeat the right time.â Organizational sources of power result in part from being in a positionof authority within an organizational hierarchy.24 For example
a leader may be in a placeto resolve uncertainty for the organization or bargain across departments
which may alsoresult in being powerful. For example
purchasing agents may have a great deal of powerbecause they operate between engineering
production scheduling
and marketing withinthe organization and outside vendors. They can use their position to influence otherdepartments and gain preferential treatment in exchange for expedited purchasing orders.25Also
a personâs position in an organization determines with whom they communicate and336