Influence can be defined as the ability to affect the perceptions, attitudes, or behaviors of others. Influence is a cornerstone of leadership. Whereas the basic leadership models discussed in Chapter 13 acknowledge influence, they do not directly include it as part of the leadership process.

In recent years, new leadership approaches have attempted to more directly consider the use of influence. Transformational leadership, one such approach, is the set of abilities that allow a leader to recognize the need for change, to create a vision to guide that change, and to execute the change effectively. Another influence-based approach to leadership considers charismatic leadership. Charisma, the basis of this approach, is a form of interpersonal attraction that inspires support and acceptance.

Leadership substitutes are individual, task, and organizational characteristics that tend to outweigh a leader's ability to affect subordinates' satisfaction and performance. Superleadership, a special type of leadership substitute, occurs when a leader gradually and purposefully turns over power, responsibility, and control to a self-managing work group.

Power is the potential ability of a person or group to exercise control over another person or group. The five bases of power are legitimate power (granted by virtue of one's position in the organization); reward power (control of rewards valued by others); coercive power (the ability to punish or harm); expert power (control over information that is valuable to the organization); and referent power (power through personal identification). Position power is tied to a position regardless of the individual who holds it. Personal power is power that resides in a person regardless of position. Attempts to use power can result in commitment, compliance, or resistance.

Organizational politics is activities people perform to acquire, enhance, and use power and other resources to obtain their preferred outcomes in a situation in which uncertainty or disagreement exists. Research indicates that most managers do not advocate use of political behavior but acknowledge that it is a necessity of organizational life. Because managers cannot eliminate political activity in the organization, they must learn to cope with it. Understanding how to manage political behavior requires understanding why it occurs, what techniques it employs, and strategies for limiting its effects.

Impression management is a direct, intentional effort by someone to enhance his or her image in the eyes of others. People engage in impression management for a variety of reasons and use a variety of methods to influence how others see them.