Describe a manager you have known who was/is very effective at using power and turning it into influence. Describe a manager who was/is ineffective at doing this. What was it that caused the first manager to be effective, and the second to be ineffective?
Think about all of the sources/types of power you have learned about in this lesson. What types of power have you had, or have now? How did you acquire this power? How effective or ineffective have you been at transforming that power into influence (be honest!)? What can you do to use power more effectively in the future?
Which political tactics for gaining power have you seen operate in an organization or group you are/were associated with? Give an example of both the effective and ineffective use of these tactics, and analyze what caused these attempts to gain power to succeed or fail. Have you ever been an “organizational politician”? Tell us about it. If not, would you like to be one? Why, or why not?
To what extent does conflict exist in your organization (or group, team or club), or in one that you have been associated with in the past? Examine this conflict in terms of the causes of conflict discussed in this Lesson. Which sources of conflict apply, which don’t, and why? Are there any other sources of conflict you have observed that were not discussed in this lesson? Does Pondy’s model of how conflict develops over time “ring true” to you? Map each element of the model to a conflict situation you have seen, or been involved in yourself.
