John is good with numbers, but he wasn’t sure what he wanted to study in college. During his senior year in high school he had a
math teacher, Mr. Roury. John liked his teaching style and got interested in numbers. He also joined the Math Club to spend more time with Mr. Roury. As a result, John went on to study math and later engineering in college, and today tells his kids that he owes his career to Mr. Roury. Mr. Roury exhibited ________ power over John. positional referent coercive reward legitimate
Referent power refers to a leader's ability to influence others by provoking in them a sense of admiration for his qualities and traits. Those leaders present strong interpersonal relationship skills, earning their followers' trust and respect. As we can see in the situation described, Mr. Roury never explicitly tried to influence John to become a mathematician. John's decision resulted from the admiration he felt toward his teacher. Mr. Roury is, for that reason, a reference for John, exerting referent power over him.
