Management consulting plays a crucial role in organizational leadership development, yet the power dynamics underlying consultants' interactions with managers remain understudied. This research investigates the power bases of management consultants and their impact on leadership and managerial growth. Through in-depth qualitative research involving 40 consultants and employing semi-structured interviews, the study explores how different types of power influence consultant-manager relationships. The analysis reveals two primary informal power bases among consultants: referent and expert power. These power foundations demonstrate distinct approaches to managerial development. Consultants with referent power tend to directly address and solve managers' immediate problems, while those with expert power focus on enhancing managers' self-efficacy and problem-solving capabilities. By empowering managers to independently navigate challenges, expert power demonstrates a more transformative approach to leadership support. This research contributes significant insights to leadership and organizational development theory. It illuminates the nuanced ways consultants leverage power to support managerial growth, bridging theoretical understanding and practical application. The findings offer valuable perspectives on the complex dynamics of consultant-manager interactions and provide a framework for understanding how different power bases can strategically influence organizational leadership development.
