Published Online:https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0180

We examine the impact of the subjective experience of power on leadership dynamics and team performance and find that the psychological effect of power on formal leaders spills over to affect team performance. We argue that a formal leader's experience of heightened power produces verbal dominance, which reduces team communication and consequently diminishes performance. Importantly, because these dynamics rely on the acquiescence of other team members to the leader's dominant behavior, the effects only emerge when the leader holds a formal leadership position. Three studies offer consistent support for this argument. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.

REFERENCES

  • Agrell A. , Gustafson R. 1996. Innovation and creativity in work groups. In West M. A. (Ed.), Handbook of work group psychology: 314–343. London: Wiley. Google Scholar
  • Anderson C. A. , Galinsky A. 2006. Power, optimism, and risk-taking. European Journal of Social Psychology (special issue on social power), 36: 511–536. Google Scholar
  • Anderson C. A. , Lindsay J. L. , Bushman J. 1999. Research in the psychological laboratory: Truth or triviality? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8: 3–9. Google Scholar
  • Anderson C. , Brown C. E. 2010. The functions and dysfunctions of hierarchy. In Staw B.Brief A. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, vol. 30: 50–89. Greenwich, CT: JAI. Google Scholar
  • Anderson N. R. , West M. A. 1998. Measuring climate for work group innovation: Development and validation of the team climate inventory. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19: 235–258. Google Scholar
  • Anderson C. , Berdahl J. L. 2002. The experience of power: Examining the effects of power on approach and inhibition tendencies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83: 1362–1377. Google Scholar
  • Ashford S. J. , Rothbard N. P. , Piderit S. K. , Dutton J. E. 1998. Out on a limb: The role of context and impression management in selling gender-equity issues. Administrative Science Quarterly, 43: 23–57. Google Scholar
  • Babcock L. , Loewenstein G. 1997. Explaining bargaining impasse: The role of self-serving biases. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11: 109–126. Google Scholar
  • Bales R. F. , Strodtbeck F. L. , Mills T. M. , Roseborough M. E. 1951. Channels of communication in small groups. American Sociological Review, 16: 461–468. Google Scholar
  • Barry B. , Stewart G. L. 1997. Composition, process, and performance in self-managed groups: The role of personality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82: 62–78. Google Scholar
  • Bass B. M. 2008. The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications. New York: Free Press. Google Scholar
  • Berdahl J. L. , Martorana P. V. 2006. Effects of power on emotion and expression during a controversial group discussion. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36: 497–509. Google Scholar
  • Bunderson J. S. 2003a. Recognizing and utilizing expertise in work groups: A status characteristics perspective. Administrative Science Quarterly, 48: 557–591. Google Scholar
  • Bunderson J. S. 2003b. Team member functional background and involvement in management teams: Direct effects and the moderating role of power centralization. Academy of Management Journal, 46: 458–474.LinkGoogle Scholar
  • Catmull E. 2008. How Pixar fosters collective creativity. Harvard Business Review, 86(3): 64–72. Google Scholar
  • Chen S. , Lee-Chai A. Y. , Bargh J. A. 2001. Relationship orientation as a moderator of the effects of social power. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80: 173–187. Google Scholar
  • De Dreu C. K. , West M. A. 2001. Minority dissent and team innovation: The importance of participation in decision making. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86: 1191–1201. Google Scholar
  • DeRue D. S. 2011. Adaptive leadership theory: Leading and following as a complex adaptive process. In Brief A.Staw B. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior, vol. 31: 125–150. Greenwich, CT: JAI. Google Scholar
  • Detert J. R. , Burris E. R. 2007. Leadership behavior and employee voice: Is the door really open? Academy of Management Journal, 50: 869–884.LinkGoogle Scholar
  • Dionne Sh. D. , Yammarino F. J. , Atwater L. E. , Spangler W. D. 2004. Transformational leadership and team performance. Journal of Organizational Management, 17: 177–194. Google Scholar
  • Drach-Zahavy A. , Somech A. 2001. Understanding team innovation: The role of team processes and structures. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 5(2): 111–123. Google Scholar
  • Dvir T. , Shamir B. 2003. Follower developmental characteristics as predicting transformational leadership: A longitudinal field study. Leadership Quarterly, 14: 327–344. Google Scholar
  • Edmondson A. C. 2003. Speaking up on the operating room: How team leaders promote learning in interdisciplinary action teams. Journal of Management Studies, 40: 1419–1452. Google Scholar
  • Edwards J. R. , Lambert L. S. 2007. Methods for integrating moderation and mediation: A general analytical framework using moderated path analysis. Psychological Methods, 12: 1–22. Google Scholar
  • Eisenhardt K. M. , Bourgeois L. J. 1988. Strategic decision making in high-velocity environments: Toward a midrange theory. Academy of Management Journal, 31: 737–770.AbstractGoogle Scholar
  • Fiske S. T. 1993. Controlling other people: The impact of power on stereotyping. American Psychologist, 48: 621–628. Google Scholar
  • French J. R. P. , Raven B. 1959. The bases of social power. In Cartwright D.Zander A. (Eds.), Group dynamics: 150–167. New York: Harper & Row. Google Scholar
  • Galinsky A. D. , Gruenfeld D. H. , Magee J. C. 2003. From power to action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85: 453–466. Google Scholar
  • Galinsky A. D. , Magee J. C. , Inesi M. E. , Gruenfeld D. H. 2006. Power and perspectives not taken. Psychological Science, 17: 1068–1074. Google Scholar
  • Gardner H. , Gino F. , Staats B. 2012. Dynamically integrating knowledge in teams: A resource-based view of team performance. Academy of Management Journal, 55: 998–1022.LinkGoogle Scholar
  • Georgesen J. C. , Harris M. J. 1998. Why's my boss always holding me down? A meta-analysis of power effects on performance evaluations. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2: 184–195. Google Scholar
  • Goodwin S. A. , Gubin A. , Fiske S. T. , Yzerbyt V. Y. 2000. Power can bias impression processes: Stereotyping subordinates by default and by design. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 3: 227–256. Google Scholar
  • Goodwin S. A. , Operario D. , Fiske S. T. 1998. Situational power and interpersonal dominance facilitate bias and inequality. Journal of Social Issues, 54: 677–698. Google Scholar
  • Grant A. , Gino F. , Hofmann D. 2011. Reversing the extraverted leadership advantage: The role of collective employee proactivity. Academy of Management Journal, 54: 528–550.AbstractGoogle Scholar
  • Gruenfeld D. H. , Inesi M. E. , Magee J. C. , Galinsky A. D. 2008. Power and the objectification of social targets. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95: 111–127. Google Scholar
  • Guinote A. 2007. Power and goal pursuit. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33: 1076–1087. Google Scholar
  • Guzzo R. A. , Dickson M. W. 1996. Teams in organizations: Recent research on performance and effectiveness. In Spence J. TDarley J. M.Foss D. J. (Eds.) Annual review of psychology, vol. 47: 307–338. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews. Google Scholar
  • Halevy N. , Chou E. Y. , Galinsky A. D. 2011. A functional model of hierarchy: Why, how, and when vertical differentiation enhances group performance. Organizational Psychology Review, 1: 32–52. Google Scholar
  • Hamilton G. G. , Biggart N. W. 1985. Why people obey: Theoretical observations on power and obedience in complex organizations. Sociological Perspectives, 28: 3–28. Google Scholar
  • Hogg M. A. 2001. A social identity theory of leadership. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 5: 184–200. Google Scholar
  • Howell J. M. , Shamir B. 2005. The role of followers in the charismatic leadership process: Relationships and their consequences. Academy of Management Review, 30: 96–112.LinkGoogle Scholar
  • Keltner D. , Gruenfeld D. H. , Anderson C. 2003. Power, approach, and inhibition. Psychological Review, 110: 265–284. Google Scholar
  • Kipnis D. 1972. Does power corrupt? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24: 33–41. Google Scholar
  • LeBrenton J. M. , Senter J. L. 2008. Answers to 20 questions about interrater reliability and interrater agreement. Organizational Research Methods, 11: 815–852. Google Scholar
  • Lewis K. 2004. Knowledge and performance in knowledge-worker teams: A longitudinal study of transactive memory systems. Management Science, 50: 1519–1533. Google Scholar
  • Locke J. 1689/1988. An essay concerning human understanding. Oxford, UK.: Clarendon. Google Scholar
  • Lord R. G. 1977. Functional leadership behavior: Measurement and relation to social power and leadership perceptions. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22: 114–133. Google Scholar
  • MacKinnon D. P. , Fairchild A. J. , Fritz M. S. 2007. Mediation analysis. In Fiske S. T.Kazdin A. E.Schacter D. L. (Eds.) Annual review of psychology, vol. 58: 593–614. Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews. Google Scholar
  • Marks M. A. , Mathieu J. E. , Zaccaro S. J. 2001. A temporally based framework and taxonomy of team process. Academy of Management Review, 26: 356–376.AbstractGoogle Scholar
  • Martin A. , Bal V. 2006. The state of teams: CCL research report. Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership. Google Scholar
  • Mathieu J. E. , Heffner T. S. , Goodwin G. F. , Salas E. , Cannon-Bowers J. A. 2000. The influence of shared mental models on team process and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85: 273–283. Google Scholar
  • Orbell J. M. , van de Kragt A. J. C. , Dawes R. M. 1988. Explaining discussion-induced cooperation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54: 811–819. Google Scholar
  • Overbeck J. R. 2010. Concepts, domains, and historical perspectives on power. In Guinote A.Vescio T. K. (Eds.), The social psychology of power: 19–45. New York: Guilford. Google Scholar
  • Overbeck J. R. , Park B. 2006. Powerful perceivers, powerless objects: Flexibility of powerholders' social attention. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 99: 227–243. Google Scholar
  • Peabody R. L. 1962. Perceptions of organizational authority: A comparative analysis. Administrative Science Quarterly, 6: 463–482. Google Scholar
  • Pearson C. A. L. 1991. An assessment of extrinsic feedback on participation, role perceptions, motivation, and job satisfaction in a self-managed system for monitoring group achievement. Human Relations, 44: 517–537. Google Scholar
  • Proell C. , Sauer S. J. 2011. “Stock” options: The debilitating effects of autonomy and choice on self-perceptions of power. Journal of Business and Behavioral Sciences, 23(3): 82–102. Google Scholar
  • Ridgeway C. L. , Berger J. 1986. Expectations, legitimation, and dominance behavior in task groups. American Sociological Review, 51: 603–617. Google Scholar
  • See K. E. , Morrison E. W. , Rothman N. B. , Soll J. B. 2011. The detrimental effects of power on confidence, advice taking, and accuracy. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 116: 272–285. Google Scholar
  • Shrout P. E. , Bolger N. 2002. Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7: 422–445. Google Scholar
  • Smith K. G. , Smith K. A. , Olian J. D. , Sims H. P. , O'Bannon D. P. , Scully J. A. 1994. Top management team demography and process: The role of social integration and communication. Administrative Science Quarterly, 39: 412–438. Google Scholar
  • Stasser G. 1992. Pooling of unshared information during group discussion. In Worchel S.Wood W.Simpson A. (Eds.), Group process and productivity: 48–67. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Google Scholar
  • Stasser G. , Stewart D. 1992. Discovery of hidden profiles by decision-making groups: Solving a problem versus making a judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63: 426–434. Google Scholar
  • Stein R. T. , Heller T. 1979. An empirical analysis of the correlations between leadership status and participation rates reported in the literature. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37: 1993–2002. Google Scholar
  • Stogdill R. M. 1950. Leadership, membership, and organizations. Psychological Bulletin, 47: 1–14. Google Scholar
  • Thibaut J. W. , Kelley H. H. 1959. The social psychology of groups. New York: Wiley. Google Scholar
  • Tost L. P. , Gino F. , Larrick R. P. 2011. When power makes others speechless: The negative impact of leader power on team performance. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management, San Antonio. Google Scholar
  • Van der Vegt G. S. , de Jong S. B. , Bunderson J. S. , Molleman E. 2010. Power asymmetry and learning in teams: The moderating role of performance feedback. Organization Science, 21: 347–361. Google Scholar
  • Vroom V. H. , Jago A. G. 1998. On interdependence and levels of analysis. In Yammarino F.Dansereau F. (Eds.), Leadership: The multiple-level approaches: 183–189. Greenwich, CT: JAI. Google Scholar
  • West M. A. 1990. The social psychology of innovation in groups. In West M. A.Farr J. L. (Eds.), Innovation and creativity in work: Psychological and organizational strategies: 309–333. London: Wiley. Google Scholar
  • Winquist J. R. , Larson J. R. 1998. Information pooling: When it impacts group decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74: 371–377. Google Scholar
Academy of Management
  Academy of Management
  100 Summit Lake Drive, Suite 110
  Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
  Phone: +1 (914) 326-1800
  Fax: +1 (914) 326-1900