Power, Authority and Influence in Leadership

Power, Authority and Influence in Leadership
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People in leadership are expected to have certain traits that others in regular positions do not possess. Power, authority, and influence are some of the characteristics that these leaders are expected to have. It is paramount for a health care leader to have the three traits to be a successful leader. However, these three traits have very different meanings and characteristics. Still, for one to be a successful leader, it is essential to possess the three qualities and use them solely for a good cause.
Power, leadership, and influence are three different terms with very distinct meanings. Power is the ability of a leader to have control over various resources, be it the human resource in an institution or the funds in that institution. A leader has the "ability to influence others by bestowing or withholding those resources" (Maner & Case, 2013). On the other hand, influence is when a leader affects the actions or thoughts of another individual or group. Authority is when a leader has a specific type of power on a group of people or subordinates (Thylmann, 2003). Unlike power and authority, which depend on a leader's rank, influence comes from a leader's ability to earn peoples' trust. It is possible to find a lower rank leader in a healthcare institution with more control than his/her superiors (Thylmann, 2003).
On the other hand, authority can be temporary or permanent. A person in a healthcare institution may be selected to take temporary charge and, therefore, have the authority to give orders (Thylmann, 2003). Additionally, power can force decisions upon subordinates, whereas influence implements reason and trust in an authority figure. The higher the rank, the more the power and authority a person has. Authority is dependent on power, whereas influence is an independent variable (Thylmann, 2003). These are the differences between authority, power, and influence.
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