The Dysfunctions of Power in Teams: A Review and Emergent Conflict Perspective

We review the growing literature on power in teams and use this review to develop an emergent theory of how power impacts team outcomes. We offer three contributions. First, our review highlights potentially incorrect assumptions that have arisen around the topic of power in teams and documents the theories that appear most robust in explaining the effects of power on teams. Second, we contrast the findings of this review with what is known about the effects of power on individuals and highlight the directionally oppositional effects of power that emerge across different levels of analysis. Third, we integrate findings across levels of analysis into an emergent conflict account of power in teams which explains why and when the benefits of power for individuals may paradoxically explain the potentially negative effects of power on team outcomes.