Original subtitles

Good evening. My name is David Smith, and this is my short presentation on

personal versus positional power for PMG 840.

Definition. Personal power is derived from one's formal role or authority.

So the power comes from a job title or a place in organizational hierarchy.

And a good example of this is a police officer that has positional power given

their law enforcement, like a judge or a chief executive officer for a company

would be good examples of positional power as well.

Personal power is derived from one's character, expertise, and relationships.

So someone's ability to cultivate trust, respect, competence, or charisma.

A good example of this is developing close professional friendships at work

being able to use those friendships to accomplish goals.

You'll see this a lot with very highly skilled and respected craftsmen who are

at the top of their trade, often have a lot of power and influence over an

organization. And then those who are exceptionally dependable and reliable

to those with positional power often have a lot of influence they can utilize

within an organization.

looking at types dependencies and uses of both types of power for positional

have legitimate reward and coercive power types right so for reward this is

positional power allows you the ability to recognize and reward certain

behaviors and certain performance and it's because of the position you hold

you're able to that you have access to deliver on those rewards

And then coercive power is directives backed up with threats of punishment

or reprisal.

Dependency for positional power, a lot of times if the role or title that

affords that power is removed, so is the power with it.

And then, again, whenever you see positional power in use, it also looks

very specific direct instructions.

for who what when where and why and then a lot of times you'll see controlling

resources as a part of that too the positional power allows them to control

resources are allocated where and why when for personal types we have expert

power which i mentioned before can kind of come with being a skilled craftsman

or subject matter expert in a field a lot of time you have influence with

another organization and then reference power comes from sheer leadership

charisma and

interpersonal communication skills the type of power will

remain even if the roles or titles are changed they're independent and then a

lot of times when you see this in use it'll be influenced through persuasion

leading by example

While both types of power are important, personal power tends to have more

utility in leading projects, especially in cross -functional, matrixed, or agile

environments where direct authority is limited.

Project managers often must influence without formal control.

It helps build trust, communication, and then it creates an emphasis on

expertise.

Important to note, though, positional power can still be valuable, especially

when enforcing deadlines or securing resources, but over -relying on it can

damage morale and create resistance.

In order to improve personal power, which should be a goal for everybody,

you want to start with three main things. One, you want to strengthen your

expertise.

That can be done by becoming a go -to person in your area. I mentioned it

earlier, the dependability aspect.

And then pursue certifications, advanced training, and hands -on experience.

Become a subject matter expert.

And then demonstrate competence consistently in decision -making and

-solving. This will help boost your referent power.

Another good way is to build relationships and trust, communicate

and follow through on commitments, listen actively, acknowledge other

contributions, and then support your team and then act with integrity. This

helps cultivate trust in yourself and it helps cultivate a culture of trust

within an organization.

And then finally, it's always important to develop emotional intelligence and

charisma. Again, building on that referent power, be aware of your own

and how they affect others. Adapt your communication to suit different

personalities and team dynamics. And then lead by example, positivity,

accountability, and resilience inspire others.