ABSTRACT
A hermeneutics of leadership cannot be devoid of a robust discourse on power dynamics in leadership. For that reason, before evaluating the manner in which some of the priests exercised power that comes with leadership, I would like to carry out a wide-ranging appraisal of the extant scholarship on the concept of power. Burns (1978) contended that “leadership is an aspect of power” (p. 18), and Fairholm (1991) argued that the essence of leadership is power and “leaders are power users” (p. 9). Bennis and Nanus (1985) defined leadership as the wise use of power. To lead with integrity, leaders must know the way that power functions in organizations (Harrison, 2011). Leading from a position of authority necessitates knowledge of how to manage and utilize the power that comes with the position (Heifetz, 1994). Comprehending power gives leaders the capability to use it more successfully and morally, but failure to understand power can be a ground for leaders’ abuse and misuse of power (Sikora, 2011). Although Ent, Baumeister, and Vonasch (2012) suggested that leaders possess power in terms of controlling others (p. 620), Wallace (2007) stated that leaders’ use of power “must affirm and strengthen human dignity,” and those led should have the “means to act upon their dreams and desires” (p. 121).
