According to the dependence perspective, people accrue power when others are dependent on them for things of value. Because the things valued could be physical resources or a personal relationship, dependence power can be positional or personal. Power resides implicitly in the other’s dependence. A leader–group member example would be that the group member who needs considerable recognition to survive becomes dependent on the leader, who is a regular source of such recognition.

An organizational example is that the healthcare system in the United States has become heavily dependent on information technology to help streamline the system. Should leaders lose some of their power to control resources, their power declines.