Womens Power in the Workplace - Essay Example

People tend to raise eyebrows looking at women in powerful positions with real power in the workplace. Author Anna Muoio has very effectively in simple terms presented the case of thirteen different successful women. This survey aims at identifying and comparing and contrasting how the women in the article have gained real power at their workplace. Based on the various explanations that the author has provided for each of these successful women, one common aspect among all of these ladies is that each of them uses either one of the five forms of power as explained by French and Raven (Changing Minds). Here to effectively compare each of these successful ladies, the survey will detail their style and method adopted individually. This will provide a complete overview of each of their styles and will also provide a clear comparison of the styles adopted by each of them.

Here each individual will be analysed individually. This will help give a clear idea of the style used by the individual and will help gain a clearer difference among all the ladies.

Sharon Patrick uses Coercive power as her mode of gaining real power in her workplace. This she uses to gain power and to also gain an upper hand when compared to her male counterparts. Sharon has shown the strength and confidence that she has and has used this power to her benefit (Muoio). Linda Chavez-Thompson as well uses her coercive power to deal with her workplace. Considering her role this is an ideal power to use to keep in complete control in the workplace. It is however essential to note here that her style is apt for her job. Linda Chavez-Thompson however does have a mixed role of coercive as well as expert power. She shows her expertise and used this to move up to her current position. Jessica Bibliowicz on the other hand, unlike the other ladies uses the reward power as her tool to gain real power within the company (Brooks). This she believes is the best method to get the work done and is her secret to success. Janice Gjertsen uses a combination of legitimate and referent power. Her ideas are clear and unlike the others, she focuses on being herself to the best extent and keeping up the characteristics of true women rather than trying to be someone else altogether. Katherine D'Urso unlike all the above-mentioned ladies focuses on legitimate power. She is clear with her goals and does not believe in asking for help, but in doing things in the right manner from the beginning (Muoio). She follows rules and ensures that all the work is in line with the law.

Michelle Bernard is a person who uses legitimate and referent power. She has had her goals and an aim set down firm and is clear in her mind what she aims at achieving. Her style of leadership is more transactional. Harriet Rubin follows the style of referent power. This proves to be effective as she works in an industry which is led by men. She adopts a transformational style for herself and tries to blend herself into the market as that is the only sure-shot manner of being a part of the industry and gaining a strong position in the company (Muoio).

Kathryn Gould is among the few who follow a different approach at the workplace. She has adopted charismatic leadership. She uses her natural charisma to reach out to people and to get work completed. Her style of leadership is very different from the rest. Sara Levinson has shown a very different form of leadership. She uses a participative leadership style and is focused on developing a strong team with the involvement of all. For instance here in this case of what type of leadership she uses, she consulted her team (Mullins). This is a participative leadership style. Kathy Kane-Zweber uses a coercive form of leadership in her workplace. Her style however is not very aggressive but has a light tint of coerciveness. Darlene Mann uses a reward and expert style. She keeps her work simple yet crystal clear. This has to a great extent helped her succeed. Wendy Luhabe on the other hand follows a combination of expert and coercive style. Her leadership style is more a combination of transformational leadership along with authoritative leadership. Sallie Ewing follows an open style of leadership and is focused on transforming the organisation where she operates.