Moscow State University of Printing. Choosing an organizational form of management Management of forms of power and influence

What we write about: Influence, leadership and power. Forms of power and influence.

In our book we describe the activities of managers (leaders) and leaders. Managers receive power along with the authority delegated to them by the formal organization. Leaders typically gain power through their own abilities. Managers are a group of employees in organizations who are charged with performing leadership functions. Leaders are people who influence the behavior of other people, but leaders are not always managers. The differences in the activities of managers and leaders are determined by the very content of their activities, since “management can be defined as a mental and physical process that leads to the fact that subordinates carry out official assignments given to them and solve certain tasks. Leadership, on the other hand, is the process of one person influencing other members of the group.”

The categories of leadership, power and influence are related, but they cannot be considered interchangeable. In management, leadership is viewed as the ability to influence individuals or groups to direct their efforts toward achieving organizational goals. Power is also based on influence, but unlike leadership, which is an ability, power is the ability to influence the behavior of other people. The subject of management study is to establish the essence of leadership processes and management processes, as well as the study of their components such as power and influence.

Influence is any behavior by one person that makes a change in the behavior, attitudes, or perceptions of others. Impact can take various forms. Sometimes it is formalized in the form of the authority received by the manager to evaluate the work of subordinates, determine the amount of their remuneration, or punish for shortcomings. Sometimes people can influence others by their own example, and sometimes by their own ideas. The job of a manager is not simply to ensure that a person perceives certain ideas, but to encourage a person to take active action (socially useful work) in the interests of the organization. In order for management influences on subordinates to bring the desired results, the manager must learn to use power and leadership.

Power is the ability to influence other people. The academic dictionary of the Ukrainian language interprets power as the right and opportunity to dispose, manage someone or something. The basis of power, as a rule, is the dependence of some people on others. In organizations, such dependence arises due to the manager’s control over meeting the needs and realizing the expectations of people subordinate to him. If a manager does not have sufficient power to influence those on whom the effectiveness and efficiency of his work depends, this leads to the inability to obtain the resources necessary for the successful operation of the organization. The authority exerted by the organization does not guarantee that the manager will gain power over his subordinates. Firstly, the subordinate’s dependence on the manager does not arise simultaneously with the manager’s acquisition of official powers, and secondly, the system of connections and relationships in any organization is very complex. As a result, not only are subordinates dependent on managers, but managers are also dependent on their environment—subordinates, coworkers, senior managers, trade unions, suppliers, customers, competitors, and government agencies. It can be argued that the dependence of managers on their work environment is significant than that of ordinary workers, due to a greater level of responsibility and higher expectations about the results of their own activities.

Difficulties in management can be caused by the manager's dependence on people who are not members of the organization, are not directly subordinate to him, or who do not recognize the manager's right to manage their activities. The latter happens in cases where there are “informal leaders” among employees who perceive the formal leader as a competitor and a threat to maintaining their own status among colleagues. Even the leader’s ability to influence the organization’s employees dependent on him does not guarantee him absolute power. Power will always be limited by the objective laws of nature, the power of other people, the law, as well as the capabilities of the individual endowed with power.

Every smart leader must be aware of the relativity and temporary nature of the power granted to him. Power is the greatest illusion of a person, therefore, excessive passion for it can destroy the personality of a leader and lead to the loss of those human qualities that at one time determined the success of his career. In addition, excessive categoricalness and uncompromising attitude of the leader towards subordinates upsets the balance of power. We call the balance of power a kind of psychological contract between managers and subordinates, which is not documented and is a combination of the beliefs of workers and employers based on mutual expectations. If the manager’s actions threaten the expectations of employees, then the consequence of this is the desire of subordinates to demonstrate their power over the manager and restore the disturbed balance (Fig. 10.3).

Since the manager depends on his subordinates in matters of obtaining reliable and timely information, ensuring informal contacts with other people, and the quality of the work performed, the subordinates are quite capable of making the manager’s life unbearable and his professional results unsatisfactory. Realizing that the employees subordinate to him are also endowed with power, a smart leader tries to maintain a balance in relationships at a level that would ensure the achievement of his goals and does not cause feelings of dissatisfaction and injustice in his subordinates.

Even if members of the organization do not actively oppose the obvious violation of their rights, this does not mean that discontent is absent - it is transformed into hidden forms and can manifest itself at any unfavorable moment for the leader (the “shot in the back” principle). Research shows that successful and effective leaders never exercise their power in a peremptory and commanding manner, humiliating the dignity of other people. On the contrary, a manager becomes a true fifth-level leader precisely when he pays attention to the implementation of joint (group) goals, provides the group with the necessary resources, provides assistance and support to group members, defining for each of them an area of responsibility and scope of activity. Successful leaders act according to the formula “whoever wants to be great among you, let him be your servant” - their work is aimed at unlocking the potential of the organization's employees, which makes the organization more successful. Fifth level managers never consider the organization's successes to be their own achievements - they attribute this to the talent and efforts of other people, while they themselves try to remain in the shadows. Conversely, such leaders accept responsibility for the mistakes of their subordinates as for their own unsuccessful decisions. Thanks to this, a high level of mutual trust is formed in organizations and there is a low level of conflict, and the efforts of employees are maximally aimed at achieving common goals. History gives us many counterexamples when the main idea of a leader becomes his own glory and recognition by others of his unique abilities and efforts. To behave in this way is to lead the organization to collapse in the shortest possible way. Where private interests prevail and the interests of other people are neglected, there is a violation of one of the fundamental principles of leadership formulated by Henri Fayol - ensuring the dominance of public interests over personal ones. The Swedish king Charlemagne and the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte left a loud mark on history, but they led their own countries to poverty and long-term decline, putting all national potential in the service of their own, rather illusory, interests. Therefore, the task of the manager should be to preserve the organization that he has received at his disposal, as well as its development in accordance with the conditions of the external environment.

In organizations, power can take different forms, each of which is based on a specific form of influence. We will look at the classification that is most famous in management:

1. Coercive power.

2. Power based on rewards.

3. Legitimate authority.

4. The power of personal example.

5. Expert power.

Let's consider the features of each form of power and the corresponding influence on subordinates. As we know from history, the most ancient forms of stimulating subordinates were methods known collectively as “carrot and stick”. And it is these methods that are the basis of the first two forms of power - the “stick” for coercive power, and the “carrot” for reward-based power.

Coercive power arises when a subordinate is convinced of the manager’s ability to punish him in a way that will prevent the satisfaction of an urgent need and make it impossible to realize personal expectations. In this case, the influence on the subordinate occurs due to fear, which is a kind of “demonstration of the whip.” Today, management’s “whips” look like decisions to deprive them of bonuses, denial of growth, or reprimands and warnings of dismissal. Without exception, all leaders use the method of influence out of fear, the only difference is how they do it. You can directly threaten a subordinate with dismissal if the work is not completed, or you can explain why failure to do it will lead the company to losses and job cuts when incapable workers will be the first to lose their jobs.

However, the widespread use of coercive power and influence due to fear often does not produce positive results for the organization. The reasons for this are the lack of trust and the extremely high costs of maintaining such power: fear occurs only when there is a high probability for the violator to be detected and punished. This requires the creation of an effective control system, or even several competing systems that will control control objects and each other. Attempts to create them are known both in distant and modern history. Criminal punishments of Stalin's times of being a few minutes late for work for workers or "five ears of corn" for peasants, the fight against "nonsense" and thieves in Brezhnev's times, today's harsh sanctions for violating tax laws have not led to positive changes in the consciousness of those people who are the target this kind of management influence. The only thing that can be achieved through intimidation of subordinates is a minimum of adequate labor productivity. In a situation where a person is deprived of the opportunity to realize himself and develop at work (to satisfy his higher-level needs), people look for this in other places. At the same time, the effort they expend in the process of work is the minimum necessary to avoid punishment. In addition, although forcing a person to work creates the illusion of the leader’s power and leads to the temporary subjugation of the subordinate, such coercion gives rise to a person’s feelings of alienation, depression and fear, which are transformed into a desire for revenge. In an organization, this can manifest itself in an increase in fraud, deterioration in product quality, and increased employee turnover.

A feature of control systems that use coercive power is that they are less viable and can only exist in relatively isolated conditions.

Power based on reward is a kind of antinomy (contradiction, antithesis) of coercive power. Whereas coercive power focuses on intimidating people and maintaining a sense of fear in them, reward power is exercised through positive reinforcement of subordinates' efforts. The employee believes that in exchange for loyalty and fulfillment of orders, the manager will satisfy the employee’s current need or provide other rewards. The use of positive reinforcement in reward-based power requires the leader to understand the basic motivational theories of expectancy and fairness. Positive reinforcement can be material reward (salary, bonus, financial assistance), approval of the employee’s behavior by management, provision by the organization of additional services that improve the quality of life of the subordinate (payment for health insurance, compensation for vacation and health expenses, provision of official housing, a car and funds communications, assistance in obtaining education). Managers make extensive use of reward-based power, but it is also not all-encompassing. Firstly, its limitation is caused by a person’s addiction to positive reinforcement incentives and the short-term effect of their action, and secondly, managers are limited in their ability to determine remuneration for performers by company policy, tax legislation, the position of trade unions and the resources available in the organization. It should also be remembered that a reward that is perceived favorably by one person may not be sufficient for another. From an equity theory perspective, giving higher rewards to some employees may create resentment in others, weakening the manager's influence over them. It is for these reasons that most managers do not limit themselves to the use of power based on rewards and influence based on positive reinforcement, but use a combination of various forms of power and various forms of influence.

Legitimate power is the oldest of all forms; its foundations were formed at the beginning of the creation of social forms of organizing people's lives. Power becomes legitimate in a situation where a participant in the organization believes in the legality of the manager’s orders, that is, in the right of the subject of management to give orders and in the obligations of the object of management to carry them out. In the case of legitimate power, the influence of leaders on subordinates is based on the strength of tradition - elements of culture that are passed on from generation to generation and persist for a long time. Tradition teaches us to obey people with higher social status - parents, teachers and elders. In an organization, managers have a higher status (determined by position and authority), so each manager applies legitimate power and influence based on tradition in his professional activities.

The method of influence based on tradition does not always work - for this, an organization participant must internalize those values that will allow him to believe in the manager’s ability to satisfy needs. From a manager's perspective, cultural norms, rules, and values that support the tradition of younger people reporting to older people and employees reporting to managers are helpful because such cultural elements reinforce the power and authority of the person in authority. In addition, tradition allows managers not to use punishment and rewards for work results every time, limiting themselves to threats and approvals. And already in the minds of workers, such threats and approval, under the influence of traditional ideas, are transformed into certain incentives to action.

From the point of view of employees (ordinary participants in the organization), traditions are useful because they are usually based on positive expectations and provide people with a sense of belonging to a social group. Another advantage of tradition is the existence of a clear system for delimiting areas of responsibility in the organization. In this case, a person does only what he has always done, and all non-standard problems and challenges belong to the interests of managers. Participants in organizations in traditional systems of relationships react not to people, but to positions, and relations between levels of the hierarchy can be significantly impersonal (the principle “the king is dead - long live the king!”).

Legitimate authority is an attribute of all formal organizations, and influence based on tradition facilitates relationships between leaders and subordinates. However, before our eyes this situation is changing and traditional influences are becoming more precarious. The reasons for this are, firstly, the rapid changes in the world around us, when old norms and values cease to be relevant, and secondly, the complication of relations between managers and subordinates as a result of mutual changes in expectations. People are increasingly reacting more critically to differences in the declared (formal) and real (hidden) goals of the organization, and are less likely to forgive managers for their unprofessionalism and violations of their rights. In addition, traditions can be dangerous for an organization. Thus, the culture of bribery, use of organizational resources for personal interests, and disregard for clients cannot be tolerated by managers and must be eradicated, often together with the bearers of such traditions. All of the above reduces the benefits of legitimate authority and increases the demand for people who are able to go beyond thinking, create new competitive advantages and realize existing organizational opportunities.

The power of personal example is built on the strength of the leader’s personal qualities or his abilities.

When choosing an organizational form of project management, company management must answer two main questions:

· Should project participants be relieved of their daily duties and moved to a separate location, or should they remain at their desks, dividing their working time between current activities and project work? In other words, should the project work be isolated from or integrated with the company's current production process?

· Should the organizational structure of the project be close to the functional structure of the organization, or be based on an independent model?

There are usually three main approach to organizing the project:

· Functional structure.

· Matrix structure.

· Project structure.

Functional and project structures represent two opposing approaches to project organization.

Functional structure. This approach involves the use of the existing functional hierarchical structure of the organization. Project work packages are distributed among functional departments. Heads of departments ensure the fulfillment of tasks assigned to them and are responsible for the results of the tasks assigned to the department. The project manager carries out only general coordination of work.

The disadvantage of this approach is that managers of different departments may have different ideas about the priority of a particular project, which can lead to delays in work by individual departments.

Note that the purely functional organizational structure of an enterprise in practice is often transformed into more adaptive types of structures that can be easily modified in accordance with changes in the environment and the needs of the company itself. In large companies, for example, a divisional form of management organization is often used. The main types of divisional approach to organizing management are:

· divisional-regional structure,

divisional product structure,

· divisional-technological structure.

The use of a divisional management structure does not eliminate the need for a specialized organization of project management, although it has certain features of solving this problem associated with the specialization and relative independence of divisions.

Project structure. This approach assumes that the project work package is developed independently of the hierarchical structure of the organization. The project manager manages the team assigned to him, and functional managers have no influence over the project staff.

The main problem of this approach is related to the optimal load of team members with work corresponding to their qualifications. Since the volume and

The content of work changes as the project progresses; the project team, which has a constant number of performers, may be underloaded or overloaded at certain stages of the project. In addition, it is unlikely that the project manager will be able to get the most qualified specialists on the team for the full duration of the project (especially if several similar projects are being carried out simultaneously).

Generally speaking, both of these approaches are not flexible. The combination of these two structures forms a matrix management structure, according to which performers belonging to functional departments are temporarily allocated to the project manager and assigned to carry out project work.

Matrix structure. In theory, everyone in the organization is available to perform project work. The project manager is able to more intelligently plan the assignment of resources to tasks.

Three types of matrix structure of an organization can be distinguished:

· Weak matrix.

· Balanced matrix.

· Rigid matrix.

Weak matrix. The project coordinator is responsible for coordinating project tasks but has limited authority over resources. The disadvantage of the approach is the imbalance between high responsibility and lack of authority.

Balanced matrix. The project manager coordinates all work and shares responsibility for achieving the goal with the heads of functional departments. The project manager is responsible for the time and cost parameters of tasks. Functional managers - for the content of work and quality. The problem with this approach is that the balance of responsibility can be upset when the power of one party or another (project or functional management) increases.

Hard matrix. The project manager is ultimately responsible for completing the project's tasks. Unit managers are responsible for assigning personnel to project tasks. The project manager in this case has the opportunity to exercise more effective control over the project, but the influence of the organization on the project results is weakened.

In general, the matrix form of project organization requires a clearer and formalized system of communications, control and management.

The main characteristics of management structures associated with the above forms of organization are presented in Table 3.1.

If a rigid matrix or project structure is used as an organizational approach, project management faces the question of where to place the project team. There are two opposing approaches. Team members can be completely isolated from ongoing operations in departments, or continue to work at their jobs.

The advantage of creating an isolated project team is that project personnel can concentrate entirely on the project's tasks. The disadvantage is that team members, concentrating on the project’s tasks, lose vision of the organization’s tasks as a whole, and department employees, on the contrary, find themselves isolated from the project’s tasks and may lose interest in it.

Certain organizational approaches may be more effective for different types of projects. The functional structure of the organization may be effective for well-structured projects with clearly defined goals, work packages and technologies for their implementation. Conversely, a project structure or rigid matrix may be more effective for complex projects that have a high degree of uncertainty in the content of work and technologies for their implementation.

Note that in general, the approach to creating an adaptive organizational structure may involve the use of a combination of organizational types (conglomerate). Different departments of a company may use different organizational structures, depending on the predominant type of work performed.

Table 3.1. Characteristics of the main forms of management organization

Project characteristics	Project organization form
Functional	Weak matrix	Balanced Matrix	Rigid matrix	Design
Project Manager Power	Weak or absent	Limit, lower than that of line managers	Average, equal in power to line managers	High, higher than that of line managers	Very tall or full
Role of the Project Manager	Project leader, coordinator Partial loading	Project coordinator, leader Partial loading	Project Manager, Coordinator Full load		Project/Program Manager Full load
Percentage of personnel fully employed on the project	No	0-25%	15-60%	50-95%	85-100%
Project Administrator

As shown in Section 2, planning provides project management and participants with:

understanding the goals of the project;

description of the work to be performed;

the basis for obtaining and assigning resources;

basis for the distribution of work between project participants.

In other words, the project plan provides a structure for organizing the work of the project. This paragraph discusses the goals of the management organization, showing the mapping of the three levels of planning and control (conceptual, strategic, operational) to the corresponding levels of the organization.

The objectives of the project management organization include:

Ensuring interaction;

Separation of roles and responsibilities;

Determination of responsibility for decision making;

Ensuring effective distribution of information;

Ensuring flexibility in the use of resources.

Ensuring interaction

To ensure effective interaction it is necessary:

Ensure interaction between the project manager and functional management;

Establish rules for formal interaction between project participants.

Line managers must provide the project with resources in accordance with its life cycle in such a way that the project manager can be confident that the necessary resources are available. The responsibilities of key executives for completing project tasks should be agreed upon based on a responsibility matrix.

Separation of roles and responsibilities

Various organizations and individual performers interact within the framework of the project:

Internal and external users of project results;

Internal and external resource providers;

Internal functional departments, for example, accounting, etc.

To ensure effective interaction, the following must be clearly defined:

Who should make this or that decision?

Who does this or that work.

Who is responsible for certain management functions.

Who receives this or that information.

Levels of responsibility and authority must be clearly defined not only for permanent members of the project, but also for implementers or organizations supporting the project at individual stages.

Determining Responsibility for Decision Making

Project organization includes identifying key specialists responsible for decision making. The organizational structure of the project should provide for the possibility of distributing decision-making functions in accordance with their nature (for example, technical decisions are made by technical specialists). Responsibility for decision-making should, whenever possible, be assigned to potential users of the project results.

Ensuring efficient distribution of information

In some projects, the communication system involves sending a huge amount of information to all project participants. Excessive amounts of information result in a decrease in the awareness of project participants. Likewise, meetings with too many people are no longer effective.

When considering the problem of organizing communication within a project, the project manager must:

Strive to provide project participants with only the information they need at the right time;

Determine communication channels in advance;

Strictly control the effectiveness of information channels;

Strive to provide information in the optimal form (summarized reports, graphs, tables).

Ensuring resource flexibility

Projects are often carried out by a permanent team of performers who work within the project from beginning to end. In this case, the project manager is limited in the ability to regulate the amount of resources depending on the stage of the life cycle and the scope of work, and cannot attract the most qualified specialists for specific types of work.

The project organization should allow for the involvement of different resources at different stages of the project in accordance with the following three principles:

Provide the most qualified specialists for this type of work.

Involve performers in the project team only for the period when their qualifications are necessary.

Provide an accurate description of the task to the specialists involved.

Projects are usually part of the activities of larger organizational structures. The results of project implementation are aimed at achieving the goals of customer organizations. The project can be carried out within one or more organizations. Thus, the organizational structure of the project is determined both by its goals and content of work, and by the structures of the organizations participating in the project.

In any case, the concept and organizational structure of the project must be consistent with the strategic development plan of the organization and the structure of the production organization.

The organizational structure of the project can be divided into three main levels:

Organization at the conceptual level. At this level, the basic principles of interaction are determined and the degree of participation of various project participants is explained, relationships are determined at the level of companies, departments and management.

Organization at the strategy level. At this level, responsibility for achieving key milestones is determined. Organizational elements here can be companies, departments, key managers.

Organization of work execution. At this level, responsibility for the implementation of individual work is determined, performers and supporting resources are assigned.

Management decisions made at different organizational levels of the project require the participation of management and performers occupying the corresponding levels in the organizational structure of the company (see Fig. 3.1.).

Rice. 3.1. Levels of the project's organizational structure and the corresponding types of management decisions and the personnel involved (adapted from).

Management at the concept level is associated with defining project goals (product parameters) and controlling the specification and quality of the final results. Management at the project level is associated with monitoring the achievement of intermediate results and the implementation of steps to achieve them.

It should be noted that at different stages of the project cycle the role of different organizational levels changes (see Figure 3.2.).

Fig.3.2. The role of different levels of the project's organizational structure in decision making at different stages of the project cycle.

At the level of conceptual planning and project management, the main role is played by senior managers of the organization's management, who make decisions regarding the goals and priorities of projects, the amount of funding and resource provision. This level of management plays a key role at the pre-investment stage of the project, when decisions are made regarding the project as a whole.

At the planning and launching stage of a project, management decisions concern the strategy for achieving the project's goals and the center of management moves to the strategic organizational level.

At the project implementation stage, the bulk of management decisions concern operational planning, technical implementation and task execution tactics. The main role at the execution stages is played by the organization of the work of the project team.

When choosing an organizational form of project management, company management must answer two main questions:

Should project participants be relieved of their daily duties and moved to a separate area, or should they remain at their desks, dividing their work time between current activities and project work? In other words, should the project work be isolated from or integrated with the company's current production process?

Should the organizational structure of the project be close to the functional structure of the organization, or be based on an independent model?

There are usually three main approaches to organizing a project:

Functional structure.

Matrix structure.

Project structure.

Functional and project structures represent two opposing approaches to project organization.

Functional structure. This approach involves the use of the existing functional hierarchical structure of the organization. Project work packages are distributed among functional departments. Heads of departments ensure the fulfillment of tasks assigned to them and are responsible for the results of the tasks assigned to the department. The project manager carries out only general coordination of work.

divisional-regional structure,

divisional product structure,

divisional-technological structure.

Project structure. This approach assumes that the project work package is developed independently of the hierarchical structure of the organization. The project manager manages the team assigned to him, and functional managers have no influence over the project staff.

The main problem of this approach is related to the optimal load of team members with work corresponding to their qualifications. Since the volume and

Matrix structure. In theory, everyone in the organization is available to perform project work. The project manager is able to more intelligently plan the assignment of resources to tasks.

Three types of matrix structure of an organization can be distinguished:

Weak matrix.

Balanced matrix.

Hard matrix.

Weak matrix. The project coordinator is responsible for coordinating project tasks but has limited authority over resources. The disadvantage of the approach is the imbalance between high responsibility and lack of authority.

Balanced matrix. The project manager coordinates all work and shares responsibility for achieving the goal with the heads of functional departments. The project manager is responsible for the time and cost parameters of tasks. Functional managers - for the content of work and quality. The problem with this approach is that the balance of responsibility can be upset when the power of one party or another (project or functional management) increases.

Hard matrix. The project manager is ultimately responsible for completing the project's tasks. Unit managers are responsible for assigning personnel to project tasks. The project manager in this case has the opportunity to exercise more effective control over the project, but the influence of the organization on the project results is weakened.

In general, the matrix form of project organization requires a clearer and formalized system of communications, control and management.

The main characteristics of management structures associated with the above forms of organization are presented in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1. Characteristics of the main forms of management organization

Project characteristics	Project organization form
Project characteristics	Functional	Weak matrix	Balanced Matrix	Rigid matrix	Design
Project Manager Power	Weak or absent	Limit n-naya, lower than For line managers	Average, equal in power to line managers	High, higher than that of line managers	Very tall or full
Role of the Project Manager	Project leader, coordinator Partial loading	Project coordinator, leader Partial loading	Project Manager, Coordinator Full load		Project/Program Manager Full load
Percentage of personnel fully employed on the project
Project Administrator

Manager's power- the ability to keep under one’s control what matters to the performer, what creates his dependence on the leader and forces him to act as needed for the purpose of the organization. A leader has different resources under his control, and different uses of these resources lead to different forms of power. Power– the ability to influence the situation or behavior of other people. Influence- behavior of a person that changes the attitude and feelings of other people towards him.

There are five main forms or types of power: coercion; remuneration; power, knowledge (expert power, power of competence); example (charisma); tradition. A leader can also influence subordinates through reasonable faith, persuasion and involving them in the decision-making process.

Let's look at each of these types of power.

Power based on coercion, influences subordinates through fear. This form of power is effective if it is supported by a system of control that is costly. Another disadvantage of this type of power is that subordinates may experience a decrease in job satisfaction.

Power based on remuneration, influences subordinates through positive incentives (salary increase, bonus, benefits, etc.). This form of power makes subordinates want to do their jobs better. Its disadvantage is that frequent use of this form of power is impossible due to limited resources.

Power based on traditions, or legitimate power exercises influence on subordinates through culturally instilled values ─ tradition teaches that the performer is obliged to obey the leader. The advantage of this power is its predictability. Its deficiency manifests itself in excessive speculation of this form of power without taking into account the specific situation, which can lead to a decrease in the satisfaction of subordinates with their work.

Power based on strength example, or charisma. People associate this form of power with dynamic leaders. Charisma is power built on the strength of the leader’s personal qualities or abilities. We can list some characteristics of charismatic personalities: exchange of energy, i.e. one gets the impression that these individuals radiate energy and charge the people around them with it; impressive appearance, i.e. not necessarily handsome, but attractive, has good posture and carries himself well; independence of character, i.e. these people do not rely on others in their pursuit of well-being and respect; Possessing good rhetorical skills. They are verbal and capable of interpersonal communication; the ability to perceive admiration for one’s personality, i.e. they feel comfortable when others express their admiration for them without becoming arrogant; a dignified and confident demeanor, i.e. they look collected and in control of the situation. The subordinate has a strong sympathy for the leader and strives to copy him: in actions, in clothing, etc.

Expert power or authority based on knowledge exercises influence through rational faith. This form of power is becoming increasingly relevant due to the increasing complexity of technologies for the production of products and the provision of services, as well as the increase in the size of the organization. The advantage of this form of power lies in the rapid influence on the subordinate, who is confident that the leader has special competence in relation to the problem being solved. The performer takes on faith the value of the manager's knowledge and believes that he can be trusted. Then the influence is considered reasonable, since the employee's decision to comply is conscious and logical. Another advantage of expert power is that it does not require material costs. The disadvantage is manifested in its long formation.

Traditional the form of power is focused on people with an active need for security and belonging to a group (organization). This form of power will be effective if the executive has already internalized the values of a society that supports the view that obedience to a leader is desirable behavior. The advantage of traditional power is that the subordinate reacts not to the person, but to the position. Also, this type of power increases the stability of the organization, since the behavior of subordinates becomes predictable. The disadvantage of this form of power is that if you rely only on tradition, this will certainly lead to problems in personnel management, since the needs of a modern person most often ─ involvement in the organization; recognition and self-affirmation. Satisfying these needs is only possible through the use of persuasion and participation.

Persuasion and participation are two forms of influence that can motivate a performer to actively cooperate. In conditions where the abilities of the performer have come close to the abilities of the leader, modern managers, in order to become effective, must improve their skills in these two influences.

Belief─ the manager conveys his opinion to the performer in order to obtain his consent to carry out any organizational changes. By seeking agreement, the leader has a strong impact on the performer's need for respect. If the performer also feels the need for knowledge and authority, then the power of influence through persuasion increases. This happens because the manager has recognized the competence of the performer, and the subordinate feels that a share of the boss’s power has been transferred to him. Conviction influences by bringing to the consciousness of the performer that by doing as the leader wishes, he will satisfy his own need.

The advantage of this type of power is that the performance of the person who is influenced by the leader through persuasion will not need to be checked. Moreover, he will try to do more than the minimum level, since he believes that these actions will help him satisfy all his personal needs.

The disadvantage of this type of power is its slow impact and uncertainty. Persuasion requires much more time and effort than other forms of power. Influence by persuasion then has a one-time impact.

The influence of the leader through participation aimed at people with high-level active needs: power; competence; success; self-expression. This is because people with these needs work hardest towards the goal they were drawn to formulate.

The advantage of this type of power is that participation has a positive effect on job satisfaction. The downside is that the success of this type of power depends on the situation. There are situations in which employees desire clarity, are not inclined to individualism and prefer strict control, so they do not seek to participate in the management of the organization.

Each manager must know the source of his power, adhere to a certain style of behavior in relation to his subordinates, using a wide variety of forms and methods of influencing them.

Each of the bases of manager’s power represents a certain type of resource (Table 3). For example, punishment and reward are based on material resources. Charismatic and expert forms of power involve the use of intangible resources. Traditional power influences the behavior of performers using administrative resources. And persuasion and participation use a combination of certain types of resources.

In managing people, managers rely to varying degrees on different bases of power. As a result, the leadership style of one is different from the leadership of another, i.e. we can talk about a management style. Manager style- a certain behavior of a leader that influences subordinates to achieve the organization's goals. The management style will be effective if the manager appeals to the need of the performer that is most active for him. In this case, the performer will consider the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of a need as a certain result of submission or insubordination, and will think that there is a high probability that his efforts will meet the expectations of the manager.

Table 3

Formation of leadership styles

based on different forms of power

“According to others, the Project Manager is the person who, with the help of nine women, can give birth to a child in one month” - quote from the Internet

A common situation is when a project manager is required to successfully complete a project without providing sufficient authority to achieve the goal.
The other day I got involved in a theoretical debate on the topic of what powers a project manager (PM) needs to successfully complete a project. Or, more precisely, in the formulation, what powers should be granted to the RP in the project, so that there is no excuse for “lack of them” in case of unsuccessful completion.

Below I present my thoughts, how I see the situation in theory, and how it most often occurs in my practice.

Terminology

First, you need to define some key terminology. I suggest using the terminology from the PMBOK guide.

Sponsor- the person (or group of people) who provides resources and support for the project and is responsible for achieving success. Sets the priority of the project in the organization; provides resources; approves the priority level of resources. I would like to note that, despite the fact that in Russian the word sponsor is associated primarily with money, and that financing is very important for the project, the sponsor also has other equally important responsibilities.

Customers- persons or organizations who will approve the product, service
or project outcome, and manage them. They formulate requirements for the results of the project, accept and approve the final results.

Project team– the rest of the team members who perform the work on the project.

Successful project– a project that fits within the project triangle (time frame, cost, content), with a satisfied customer.

During the project, the main interactions of the RP occur with the Customer, Sponsor and Project Team (not to be confused with communication channels on the project, of which there are many more). It is from this perspective that I will consider the required credentials for successful completion of the project.

Theory of powers RP (ideal project in an ideal company)

I see the following picture of the ideal manager's powers:

Communication powers

Free communication with the Customer
The RP must have the opportunity to communicate directly with the Customer. The presence of such powers significantly simplifies the process of interaction, meetings and escalations.

Sponsor availability
The RP must be able to communicate regularly with the sponsor to report on the current status of the project, and, if necessary, to escalate and resolve issues that are outside the RP's sphere of influence.
Also, it is often necessary to resort to Sponsor's assistance in closing the project. For example, to get the last signature on closing acts (quite often this is purely political activity, and, unfortunately, in Russian realities it does not always depend on the RP).

Organizational authority

Participation of the project manager in the project initiation phase
Agreeing on the goals of the project at its initiation/start makes it possible to formulate, record and agree on the goals of the project with all stakeholders (the Customer, the Sponsor and the project team) at the start of the project.

The Project Management Institute (PMI, http://www.pmi.org) advocates, and I wholeheartedly support, that the PM be involved as early as possible in the project (initiation phase). Ideally, before concluding a contract, so that the feasibility of the project triangle promised to the customer (time frame, functionality, budget) can be assessed.

The earlier the project manager is connected to the project management organization, the more opportunities it has to form a common perception of the goals and objectives of the project by all participants.

Official confirmation of RP status
Formal permission (for example, in the project charter) is required to attract resources to the project. And, most importantly, the Sponsor is required to formally agree on project priorities within the organization or portfolio of projects so that line managers (in a matrix structure) do not allocate resources to the completion of project tasks on a residual basis, justifying this by the presence of more important / urgent projects.

Command-related permissions

One of the key points to successfully completing a project is forming an effective team. This requires:

Adding and replacing people on a project.
If, for some reason, an employee does not fit into the project team, then the project manager should have the opportunity to replace the employee or remove him from the project. Yes, I understand that you need to be able to work with those who are there, but sometimes it is more effective to replace an employee than to waste time on him, both in the long and short term.

To this same point I include the possibility adding people to the project. That is, if the RP can justify (at the project planning phase, in the event of a change in the project triangle, or in the event of a risk trigger) why more people are needed, then they will be allocated to the project. The key phrase is “if the RP can justify it,” since adding new people does not always reduce deadlines or increase productivity. Besides, there are not always “extra people” in the company, but why not try :)

Ability to motivate people:

Motivation requiring the allocation of financial resources, which, in turn, is divided into:

Financial motivation- bonuses, overtime/weekend pay, bonuses...

Indirect financial motivation- conducting team building, training, providing more comfortable working conditions (that is, having a budget for coffee makers, comfortable tables/chairs, productive computers), co-location of employees (collocation). In Russia, the term “non-financial motivation” is used, although it seems to me that the term “indirect financial motivation” is more appropriate, since all this requires financial costs for the company one way or another.

Leadership motivation. The presence of those very “soft skills” of the project manager that they like to talk about at various trainings - communication and management skills (the ability to persuade, motivate, manage, find the right approach to people, and resolve conflict situations). That is, the skills inherent in a good leader that are constantly used.

Practice (how it happens in real life):

All of the above refers to the maximum desired powers, and for each point I can say that I have ever lacked this in my project activities. Not that this was the reason for the failure of the project, but additional difficulties arose.

It is my firm belief that in organizations that provide all of the above powers 100%, the project can be completed without the participation of the RP. A Scrum master or yesterday's team lead will be able to handle the task quite well. Perhaps with difficulties, with delays in deadlines or inefficient use of resources, but the project will be pulled through.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for the Republic of Poland, in reality such organizations do not exist. In any case, I have never heard of such things.

The question arises, what is actually the minimum required by the RP for the successful completion of the project.

All the above points can be divided into three types:

Financial – which require financial investments
Organizational – which are regulated by company rules
Personal – which require the use of personal RP skills

In the table below I present my vision of the breakdown of the listed powers into types, as well as what, first of all, is affected by the absence of these powers. In the last column I indicated how, from my point of view, one can compensate for their absence.

It is worth noting that “compensation” does not mean full replacement. The project may be such that without a sponsor and his personal connections it is impossible to sign an act (we work in Russian realities) - it all depends on the specifics of the project or project area.

On the other hand, the need to compensate for missing authority potentially imposes an additional amount of work on the RP. And there may not be enough time in the day to compensate for the lack of two or three powers.

Thus we can say that

there is an ideal list of powers
there are options for “how to get out” in the absence of one or another authority
it will not be possible to fully compensate for something missing
There is no universal list of mandatory powers for any project, due to the specifics of each project.
The personal qualities of the RP significantly help in the successful completion of the project.

Let me explain the last thought in more detail.

It can be seen that the RP has the ability to mainly influence organizational power. Personal powers (soft skills) are either there or not, and it is unlikely to have time to develop them during the project. On the other hand, if they exist, then no one can take them away or “prohibit” their use on the project.

It is also very difficult to change anything with financing. There is a certain budget planned for the project, and it is extremely rare that it can be increased while the amount of work remains the same.

Quite often it is possible to successfully resolve the issue of lack of some authority through the personal qualities of the RP. For example, agree with the sponsor to allocate 15 minutes a week, even if the company “doesn’t do that” with regard to such communication.

My practice fully confirms this conclusion. I have repeatedly observed that the more successful (from the point of view of project success) managers are those who go and demand, persuade, and beg, standing above their souls. Who negotiates with line managers about people (I myself brought a box of beer from Prague in exchange for the participation of a strong analyst on my project).

Who manages to persuade the caretaker to use more comfortable tables/chairs, headsets and phones...

Who begs for better working conditions from managers, material and non-material incentives for employees.

Who catches and communicates with the sponsor about the status and problems of the project (including intercepting the sponsor at the elevator to talk about the urgent issues and involve them in solving problems).

Who keeps the customer in the know (even despite resistance from the customer), involves him in discussing and solving problems. Ensures that everyone (customer, team, users) has a common understanding of the goals and status of the project...

In general, I want to emphasize the idea that the same proactivity , which we project managers love to see in our employees, is very useful to include in yourself. At a minimum, this is useful for the success of the project.

Sincerely,
Oleg Ponomarev, PMP