Power and Influence

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Understand Project Management

Understand the Project ManagementLife Cycle within Your Organization

Understand The Organizational Influences within Your Organization

· System· Culture· Style· Structure· PMO

Know and use the power of Project Management

Being a successful Communicator

Be willing to make the right decision and make it happen

Power and Influence• ‘Influence’ is the process by which one

person follows another’s advice, suggestion, or order.

• ‘Power’ is a personal or positional attribute, which is the base of an influencer’s influence

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Power and Influence

• Power and Influence are among the most important factors involved in Human Resource Management.

• These factors determine the framework within which the Project Manager works to influence his or her Project Team and other Human Resources.

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Seven Power Sources of a Project Manager

• Legitimate Power / Formal• Coercive Power • Reward Power• Expert Power (Technical)• Referent Power / Charismatic• Purse Strings• Bureaucratic

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Characteristics of Power

Modified strength of legitimate & othersOrganizational Climate

ExpertKnowledge and Experience

ExpertReputation

Reward, Legitimate, ReferentPosition in organizational hierarchy

Reward, Referent, LegitimateDegree of Control

Base of PowerCharacteristics

Characteristics of Power

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Of the available sources of power, those most often used by Project Managers are:

• Reward• Technical Expertise• Bureaucratic

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Organization vs. Authority

Organization AuthorityFunctional None to Low

Project Expediter Low

Project Coordinator Low

Weak Matrix Low to Medium

Balanced Matrix Medium

Strong Matrix Medium to High

Projectized High

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Some Do’s And Don’ts Relative to the Use of Power:

• Reward and Expert Power are the most successful forms of power to use for creating a favorable climate and influencing behavior on a project team.

• The Project Manager should use Legitimate Power in conjunction with Expert And Reward Power whenever possible.

• If possible, the Project Manager should avoid using Coercive Power.

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• There are three main methods of personal influence in a formal organization:

– Authority– Persuasion– Control

Influence and the Project Manager

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Influence and the Project Manager

• To use the Authority Method, the Project Manager must have Formal or Legitimate Power

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Influence and the Project Manager

• In order for a Project Manager to use the Persuasion Method, he or she must possess Expert Or Referent Power

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Influence and the Project Manager

• The Project Manager who wants to use the Control Method needs to have Coercive or Reward Power

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