A Comparative Analysis of Leadership and Power in Human Resources

This report delves into the contrasting yet complementary concepts of leadership and power within the context of human resource management. It begins by differentiating between leadership, which involves inspiring and guiding others, and power, which pertains to the ability to control and influence. The report emphasizes the necessity of balancing these two elements for effective management, highlighting several key aspects. These include the need to understand and command, control and influence, direct and consult, strive and yield, be strong and flexible, and finally, to order and ask. Each aspect is discussed in detail, underscoring how a leader can integrate both power and leadership to foster a productive and cohesive work environment. The report concludes by asserting that the successful functioning of an organization relies heavily on the healthy balance of power and leadership within the workplace, supported by references to academic sources.

MANAGEMENT:HUMAN RESOURCES

Leadership denotes the ability of an individual to inspire and guide others, along with
the management for the achievement of a common goal. Leadership is a conjunction of
development of vision, building a team, motivating individuals to achieve the vision, and
managing the end process of delivery of vision (Lunenburg, 2012). In contrast to this, the
power denotes the ability of an individual to control the activities of others. The analysis of
the different definition of the power has led to the observation that power is a casual efficacy
aimed at facilitating people to choose one alternative over the other (Haslam, Reicher &
Platow, 2010). Thus, while power comes by the virtue of the position of authority, leadership
is a personal attribute. Often, both the terms are confused, but it is vital to note that both the
terms complement each other. In order to strengthen the human resources, a balance of power
and leadership is necessitated as described below.
Understand and Command: A leader at the workplace must possess the command
to run a department or a team of individuals, and at the same time must be considerate about
the concerns of the team members (Lasswell, 2017). The department running requires power,
yet understanding the needs requires leadership.
Control and Influence: The leader must both be engaged in controlling the situation
and groups, as well as influence the group to work while being the part of the team. Thus,
while situations can be controlled through power, influence can be rendered through efficient
leadership.
Direct and Consult: It is essential for the leaders to be able to give directions to the
operations and activities. In addition, they must obtain the consultation of people being led in
context of their ideas and opinions while formulating policies and procedures for operations.
Strive and Yield: As a leader, it is imperative to strive for success and achieve the set
goals, but it is also essential to facilitate team members in a way that they contribute their

maximum yield in the team success. The most significant attribute of a good leader is to
facilitate cooperation and communication in team, so as to facilitate achievement of
individual as well as professional goals of self and team mates (Bunderson & Reagans, 2011).
Be Strong and Flexible: Yet another means to balance the power and leadership is by
creating a healthy balance between being both strong and flexible. A strong vision and
definition of missions is required to provide clarity of goals. In conjunction to this, leaders
must be flexible enough to include ideas and different approached of work of teammates in
the short term goals and objectives.
Order and Ask: Lastly, a leader must giver orders when necessary, such as in context
of disciplinary actions and at the same time must ask the feedback from the subordinates on
timely basis to address their needs and issues.
Hence, the discussions in the previous parts aid to conclude that effective functioning
of an organization is dependent on healthy balance of power and leadership at workplace.

References
Bunderson, J. S., & Reagans, R. E. (2011). Power, status, and learning in
organizations. Organization Science, 22(5), 1182-1194.
Haslam, S. A., Reicher, S. D., & Platow, M. J. (2010). The new psychology of leadership:
Identity, influence and power. UK: Psychology Press.
Lasswell, H. D. (2017). Power and personality. UK: Routledge.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2012). Power and leadership: an influence process. International journal
of management, business, and administration, 15(1), 1-9.