Referent power is influence that comes from followers identifying with, admiring, or wanting to associate with a leader. It depends on how people perceive and relate to that person—not simply on the leader’s job title. A leader can have referent power with some followers and little or none with others.
How referent power works
OpenStax defines referent power as “the power a person has because others want to associate with or be accepted by” that person (OpenStax, Organizational Behavior, section 12.3). The idea is identification: followers see qualities they admire or want to emulate, or value being associated with the leader. That connection can make the leader influential even without formal authority.
Referent power is relational and perception-based. It is not the same as popularity, and it is not an objective quality that a leader possesses equally in every relationship. Two colleagues may respond differently to the same leader because they do not share the same admiration, identification, or desire for association.
How it differs from other bases of power
French and Raven’s classic framework describes five bases of social power. They identify different reasons a follower may be influenced; a leader can draw on several at once.
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| Base | What followers believe the leader… |
|---|---|
| Legitimate | …is entitled to do because of a recognized role or position. |
| Reward | …can offer valued outcomes. |
| Coercive | …can impose penalties or remove valued outcomes. |
| Expert | …knows or can do something valuable. |
| Referent | …is someone they want to identify with or associate with. |
These distinctions help explain why a title alone does not create referent power: a title may support legitimate power, while referent power depends on followers’ relationship to the person.
Where referent power fits in the framework
The familiar five-base list is the classic version of French and Raven’s model. Raven later added informational power, and later work further developed and subdivided the categories. The number and classification of bases therefore depend on which version is being discussed; informational power should not be presented as part of the original five. Raven’s later account also treats influence as a process shaped by motives, circumstances, chosen strategies, and possible positive or negative aftereffects (Raven, 1993; see also the SAGE Encyclopedia of Leadership).
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What referent power does—and does not—tell you
Referent power describes a possible source of influence; it does not guarantee trust, agreement, strong performance, or ethical leadership. Admiration or identification can make someone influential, but the concept alone does not establish what that person will do with the influence or how followers will respond.
One measurement study illustrates why findings should be stated narrowly. Raven, Schwarzwald, and Koslowsky reported samples of 317 American student respondents and 101 Israeli health workers. Their abstract reports that job satisfaction was positively related to supervisors’ use of soft power bases as attributed by participants; it does not isolate referent power as the cause, nor establish that one caused the other (Raven, Schwarzwald, and Koslowsky, 1998). Those sample sizes describe that study, not a population-wide estimate.
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