What It Really Means to Manage: Exercising Power and Influence
Hill, L. A. (1999). Harvard Business Review.


This article describes the realities versus the myths of what it means to be a manager. In particular, it focuses on the limitations of formal authority as a source of power and identifies other sources of power that effective managers rely upon. It also outlines a framework of exercising influence (law of reciprocity) and building networks of mutually beneficial alliances with direct reports, bosses, and peers.