Referent Power

What is referent power?

Referent power is influence based on a person’s identification with another person or group. Someone may adopt a group’s behavior because they want to belong to it, or follow a person because they want to be like them.

Original definition

French and Raven (1959) identified referent power as one of five bases of social power. They distinguished identification from following someone to receive a reward, avoid punishment, comply with legitimate authority, or rely on expertise.

Referent power example

An employee might adopt an admired manager's way of running meetings because they want to be like that manager, even when no reward or instruction requires it. That illustrates identification-based influence.

These bases can coexist. Admiring a manager and valuing their technical advice, for example, involve potentially different sources of influence. The important question is what sustains the influence in that relationship.

Referent power in leadership

To examine this kind of influence, ask who people identify with and why. Shared values, relationships, or charisma may be part of the explanation, but popularity alone does not show which advice people will follow.

A charismatic leader can inspire identification while using that influence badly. Admiration is a source of influence, not a test of the quality of the advice.