Forms of power

Have you heard of the “forms of power”?

Despite the heavy use of the word “power” that does feel uncomfortable, it’s a really interesting component of behavioral science that I’ve come across through, of all places, a parenting podcast.

There isn’t a universally accepted list that encompasses all of the forms as it’s often context dependent, but a commonly cited list is below, and I specifically want to focus on just one in a sec:

1. Legitimate Power: Power from a position of authority or a formal role.
2. Reward Power: Power to give rewards or benefits.
3. Coercive Power: Power based on the ability to punish or impose consequences.
4. Expert Power: Power from knowledge, skills, or expertise.
5. Referent Power: Power from being liked, respected, or admired.
6. Informational Power: Power based on control of information.

(There are others like political power, sovereign power, economic power etc, which are obviously context dependent).

The one I’m most interested in here is Referent Power.

In the parenting podcast, they painted a scene of a schoolyard where kids are being picked on and excluded for being part of the drama group – importantly, they defined this as an issue the school community needs to address, and shouldn’t be the burden of the excluded child to overcome.

One of the strategies they suggested for adjusting the behaviours of the school community as a whole, is to find the kids in the school who are defined as the “social referents” and recruiting their help.

In their words:

“Social referents are the kids in a school community who will influence the behaviour of others. They’re not the bullies, and they’re not always the popular kid either. They’re the kids that will change behaviours, for example, Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate About You. He’s not popular but what he does, everyone’s watching him. So you bring those kids in and say ‘making the arts a safer space for everybody is a priority for us’. These kids will want to help – they seek leadership roles, they’ve often got an altruistic component to them, and have high moral and psychological courage – that’s why people watch them.” (Dr. Billy Garvey).

It’s a really beautiful example of finding someone’s strengths, and offering them an opportunity to put those strengths to full use in the way they’d want to use them.

I’m not sure if this is ever used in a business context, but there are guaranteed to be influential people or businesses who sit in the referent category.

The difference I see is that, while some will naturally fall into the referent category similarly to the kids in the schoolyard will, I believe in a business context it can be cultivated… The catch is it absolutely, categorically, completely, totally, utterly has to be genuine.

How? Just some back-of-the-napkin stuff here, but I reckon by selectively bragging about things that are outwardly good (that benefit the community) rather than inwardly good (only benefits the business) is an ok place to start.

Examples: Talk about how you switched to an ethical bank to ensure all of your money is invested in positive impact projects; Or how you’ve signed a pledge to never work with fossil fuel companies; Or how you commit to only using second-hand or refurbished tech wherever possible.

Again, it’s gotta be genuine or you’re just spinning more crap and no one needs it.

How do we feel about this – can you cultivate a referent business? Do you think you or your business could become that figure in your corner of the world?