The types of power in the workplace explain why some people are taken seriously long before they have the biggest title or the loudest voice. You’ve seen them. Those colleagues who somehow command respect in meetings, even without the fancy title or years of experience. The peer at your level whose projects always get prioritized. The person everyone listens to, even when they’re relatively new to the organization.
It feels almost magical. Mysterious.
So you arrive at the most logical conclusion: They must just be better than me. More confident. More charismatic. More naturally gifted at this whole “influence” thing.
And that conclusion makes you feel terrible. Because if it’s just about who they are as a person — some innate quality they possess — then what hope do you have?
Let’s stop that narrative right now.
Because if you’re a mid-to-senior level professional who’s earned your stripes, delivers great work, and has a solid track record — but still feels like there’s a disconnect between what you’ve accomplished and how you’re actually being treated…
You’re experiencing what I call the gravitas gap.
You’re not imagining it. You’re not being overly sensitive. There IS a disconnect.
But it’s not because you’re inadequate or lacking something fundamental. It’s because you haven’t been given the keys to the castle. Nobody sat you down and said, “Here are the levers you can pull if you want to be taken more seriously.”
Today, I’m handing you those keys.
The 5 Types of Power in the Workplace (And How to Use Them)
Power dynamics in the workplace have been well-studied for decades. There’s research behind this. Which means it’s something YOU can replicate. Here are the five types of power that determine who gets heard, who gets ahead, and who gets overlooked:
1. Role Power (Legitimate Power)
This is the authority granted to you based on where you sit in the org chart. Your position comes with specific responsibilities, rights, and privileges.
How to identify if you (or someone else) has this power:
- Can they make decisions that impact others?
- Can they assign tasks, set goals, allocate resources, and enforce policies?
- Are they recognized and respected by colleagues and subordinates?
- Do they get access to confidential information or special resources because of their position?
- Are they held accountable for their actions and decisions?
Role power is the backbone of business. Having certain people with certain rights based on their title and rank is what takes a random group of people and turns them into a functioning team.
The trap: You might be reluctant to lean into your role power because you don’t want to be seen as authoritarian. But swinging too far in the other direction—turning everything into a committee decision, dropping hints instead of giving clear direction—creates confusion and makes you lose respect.
When to use it:
- When you need to assign ownership and people are being wishy-washy
- When your team is spinning on a decision that doesn’t need consensus
- When someone keeps missing meetings and it’s impacting the team
- When you’re being asked to weigh in on every tiny decision
Using role power decisively doesn’t make you controlling. It makes you someone who moves things forward.
2. Reward Power
This is your ability to influence people by giving them something they want. It could be tangible (raises, promotions, positive reviews) or intangible (praise, public recognition).
You have reward power if:
- You have authority to hand out resources—budgets, people, technology
- You control access to something people value
- People want something from you
- You don’t always need role power to have reward power. Consider a project coordinator who decides who gets staffed on which projects or an executive assistant who controls access to the CEO’s calendar.
The easiest way to strengthen your reward power? Be generous with recognition.
It’s one of the few rewards that actually increases in value the more you give it. Most resources are scarce, but recognition is something you can give constantly—up, down, and across. And it doesn’t diminish your supply.
When you make people feel seen, valued, and appreciated, they will go out of their way to help you succeed. Give you the benefit of the doubt when things go wrong. Advocate for you when you’re not in the room.
3. Coercive Power
This is the opposite of reward power — using negative consequences or threats of punishment to get people to comply.
Out of all five types, this is the one you want to use the least.
It’s usually only justified when someone has breached a contract, violated a policy, or broken a rule that affects the team, you may need to enforce consequences. In those case, you’re not being cruel. You’re upholding standards and maintaining trust.
But because coercive power is mostly based in fear, it rarely buys you respect long term. Use this very sparingly.
4. Expert Power
This comes from your knowledge and expertise. You’re the go-to person, the trusted advisor others seek out for guidance and decision-making.
Signs you have this power base:
- People come to you with questions and trust your take
- You get pulled into conversations where your role doesn’t require you to be there
- People reference your past work or ideas
- New hires get told “talk to [your name], they know this stuff inside and out”
Expert power is the easiest and most straightforward type to grow. But having expertise and having expert power are different things.
You can be incredibly smart and deeply specialized in your field, and yet no one cares or comes to you. Because expert power isn’t just about what you know. It’s about whether other people know that you know it. And whether they trust your judgment enough to act on your advice.
5. Referent Power
This is your ability to influence people through your personality and character. People admire your values and how you behave. They connect with you, and that earns you respect.
When people hear “personality,” they often think this is about charisma and being the most charming or funniest person in the room. But referent power is about people wanting to be associated with you because of who you are and what you stand for.
Signs you have strong referent power:
- Your boss confides in you about challenges
- People emulate how you communicate and handle conflict
- Your team is loyal to you in ways that go beyond just reporting to you
- When you leave an organization, people stay in touch and reach out for advice years later
You can’t force referent power, and it tends to be fragile – one misstep and it’s lost. But there are small, consistent behaviors that build it over time. Treat people well regardless of their status (how you treat the intern matters just as much as how you treat the VP). Remember the little details about others’ lives that they tell you and follow up.
Want a deeper breakdown of these five types of power? Listen to the full podcast episode, “Office Politics Decoded: 5 Types of Power to Build Influence Without Playing Dirty,” on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
