Understanding Human Communication

power: Even in groups who begin with no official leader, members
can acquire legitimate power by the acknowledgment of
others. Juries elect forepersons, and committees elect chairpersons.Teams
choose a captain. Negotiating groups elect spokespeople.The
subject of leadership emergence has been studied extensively.
24 Researchers have discovered several communicator
characteristics that members who emerge as leaders possess:
They speak up in group discussions without dominating others,
they demonstrate their competence on the subject being discussed,
they observe group norms, and they have the support
of other influential members.
COERCIVE POWER Coercive power occurs when influence
comes from the threat or actual imposition of some unpleasant
consequences. In school, at home, on the job, and in many other
settings we sometimes do what others tell us, not because
of any respect for the wisdom of their decisions but rather
because the results of not obeying would be unpleasant.
Economic hardship, social disapproval, undesirable work, even
physical punishment—all are coercive forces that can shape
behavior.
There are three reasons why coercion usually isn’t the most effective
type of power. First, it’s likely to create a negative communication
climate, because nobody likes to be threatened. Second,it
can produce what has been called a “boomerang effect”in
which a member who is threatened with punishment resists by doing exactly
what the other members don’t want.Third, coercion alone may tell others what
not to do, but it doesn’t tell them what you do want them to do.Telling an unproductive
member,“If you can’t contribute useful information,we’ll kick you out
of the group” doesn’t offer much advice about what would count as “useful information.”
Social scientists say that coercion has the best chance of success when it involves
denial of an expected reward rather than the imposition of a negative consequence.
25 For example, canceling an upcoming vacation of a working group
who doesn’t meet its deadline is better than reducing employees’ salaries. Even
under circumstances like this, however, coercion alone is not as effective as the
next kind of power, which involves rewards.
REWARD POWER Reward power exists when others are influenced by the
grant or promise of desirable consequences. Rewards come in a variety of
forms.The most obvious are material reinforcers:money,awards,and so on.Other
rewards can be social in nature.The praise of someone you respect can be a powerful
motivator. Even spending time with people you like can be reinforcing.
Rewards don’t come only from the official leader of a group.The goodwill of
other members can sometimes be even more valuable. In a class group, for example,having
your fellow students think highly of you might be a more powerful
reward than the grade you could receive from the instructor.In fact,subordinates
sometimes can reward nominal leaders just as much as the other way around. A
boss might work hard to accommodate employees in order to keep them
happy, for example.
CHAPTER 9 SOLVING PROBLEMS IN GROUPS 309