By: Paul Baranay
I am excited to present to you this week a first for The Elvish Farmer. I often have guest’s writing for the blog, but this week we have a blog swap with none other than Paul Baranay, the writer of Bearz Repeating! Paul is an L3 in New York, and is the lead developer of Judge Apps. He is present at many GPs, and can easily be recognized by his relentless positivity and smile! Paul’s work on his blog was one of the main inspirations for me to start The Elvish Farmer, and the posts there are of a quality I consistently strive to reach. So, for this week, enjoy his eloquent post on the nature and types of power, and how you can see examples of each at a Magic tournament! (To see the other side of the blog swap, check here)
Navigating the Gauntlet of Power
Several decades ago, a pair of guys were preoccupied with a question that I’m sure keeps many of you up at night as well: how do we acquire and use power? These guys were social psychologists John French and Bertram Raven. French and Raven observed that different people seem to have power for different reasons, which also influences how they can use that power.
Eventually, French and Raven put their heads together and published a now-famous study explaining their ideas (1). They concluded there are five sources or “bases of power”:
- Legitimate power originates from holding a formal position of authority, or having a title.
- Reward power means giving someone tangible or intangible benefits in exchange for their help and cooperation.
- Coercive power relies on the threat of punishment to ensure compliance.
- Referent power stems from the groups you are part of, and other personal connections you share with others.
- Expert power is rooted in your personal knowledge, experience, and talents — in other words, your reputation.
These types of power can be grouped into two simple categories: formal power and personal power. Legitimate power, reward power, and coercive power are all types of formal power, which you could also call positional power: it’s derived primarily from pre-existing, external structures. In contrast, referent power and expert power are personal power sources. They’re intrinsic to the person who wields them, based on their personal qualities and characteristics.
Each of us has access to all of these bases of power, to varying extents. To illustrate them, I’ll use examples from judging events.
At a Magic tournament, every judge on staff has legitimate power thanks to their role as a judge. In particular, the IPG grants every floor judge the same degree of legitimate power when penalizing players, whether you’re Newbie Norman or L3 Louis.
Yet, in practice, players may respond to two floor judges very differently. This can sometimes be a result of judges’ varying degrees of expert power. Suppose Newbie Norman is giving Greg the Grinder a (correct) ruling at a Grand Prix. Greg is about to appeal, but trails off when he sees Expert Ellen standing behind Greg, nodding silently. That’s Ellen’s expert power in action.
Later in the tournament, Greg accidentally taps three mana for Chandra, Torch of Defiance instead of four. As soon as he notices, he calls for a judge. Why would Greg do this? Maybe it’s because he sincerely wants to the ethical thing…or, perhaps, he fears Norman and Ellen’s coercive power to penalize him.
In the last round of Swiss, Tony the TO asks Norman if he’s willing to help with break-down on Monday, in exchange for a couple of boxes. This is a basic usage of reward power, an offer of goods for a service. After the tournament, Tony announces that he’d like to thank the whole staff for putting on such a great event. This, too, is reward power.
Finally, Pete the Photographer posts the staff picture on the Magic Judges Facebook page. Ellen sees herself and Norman standing together, and tags Norman. When he gets the notification, Norman swells with pride. Here, Ellen is using her referent power to make Norman feel included and valued.
These examples are just the barest surface of how the bases of power shape and influence all sorts of interactions, from Magic tournaments to judge projects, and beyond. Although it’s helpful to start by exploring each type of power separately, the five sources are deeply intertwined and interdependent.
What are your sources of power as a judge? How do they change depending on the particular context you find yourself in? What bases of power do you want to nurture and use more? Which would you like to lean on less? Let me (and Nik) know what you think in the comments!
The Elvish Farmer 