Are you comfortable developing
sources of personal influence to gain power?
According to Whetton and Cameron, personal power or influence comes from
four sources – expertise, personal attraction, effort and legitimacy. In my
current field of work as an engineer, there are two clear and distinct groups
of people in my workplace that commands power and influence. One group is the
managers who are able to exert power because of their position. But the other
group comprises of all the technical experts who are able to contribute
effectively to the daily work that we do, as well as provide advice for colleagues
who do not have much experience. Hence, it is important for me as an employee
to develop technical expertise in my field, as well as my positional power, to
fully gain power in my company.
Do you embody the characteristics
of likeable people depicted in Table 5.4 (p. 290)?
I would like to believe that I have the characteristics of a likeable
person as shown in the table. However, I accept the fact that not everyone will
like me and similar, I will not like everybody that I know. Despite the
differences, it is important to remain professional in the workplace and put
personal difference aside to get the job done.
Are you able to use influence
both up and down your organization considering the information in Table 5.5 (p.
293).
Unfortunately, I am unable to comment on influencing employees below me
because currently, I am at the bottom of my organization. I had the opportunity
to mentor several interns and have successfully gotten them to follow my
instructions during their time with my company.
With regard to my boss, yes I have been able to influence him to help me
with my work whenever I feel I need a high power to step in. At the moment, I
have a good working relationship with my boss that goes beyond the workplace.
It also helps that he is approachable and helpful.
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