Employees attain positions of power via different paths, such as the support of their professional networks and/or their valued domain-specific expertise. Once in these positions, powerholders are tasked with motivating their followers to achieve organizational objectives, acting as leaders even in difficult situations where there may be conformity pressures to comply with existing opinions and beliefs. Can leaders’ paths to power influence their propensity to conform? Across 4 studies including leveraging 10 years of voting history data from the US Senate, we show that individuals who attain positions of power via their network (vs. expertise) conform more to the opinions of others because of their awareness of their dependency on these others. Studies 1-2 demonstrate that individuals attaining positions of power due to their networks (vs. expertise) are more likely to conform to others once in these positions. Study 3 experimentally identifies a key mechanism of this effect, revealing that individuals gaining positions of power due to their network (vs. expertise) conform at higher rates because they are more aware of their dependency on these others. Study 4 examines the positive relationship between dependency and conformity in the context of high-stakes powerholders: US senators. Our research demonstrates that how one attains their position of power affects their behavior once in that position. Securing a position of power via one’s network may encourage leaders to follow, rather than to lead.
