Many bosses think that their strongest management tool is the power that comes with their title, but there are far more effective ways to lead your staff.

By Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback, contributors

FORTUNE -- Most people think that power and authority are what make a boss fully effective. The more power, the better the boss.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Films, popular literature, and television foster the stereotype that a good leader is one who wields power visibly and says, "I'm in charge" in word, deed, and demeanor.

But this is not necessarily so. The latest piece of evidence to undermine this popular view comes from researchers Leigh Plunkett Tost, Francesca Gino, and Richard P. Larrick, who argue in a working paper recently published online by Harvard Business School, "...when a leader feels a heightened sense of power, he or she tends to dominate group discussions and interactions, thereby suppressing contributions from other team members and consequently decreasing team performance."

In other words, bosses that view their jobs in terms of "I'm the boss!" tend to monopolize discussions with their staff. That both limits the time available for others to express their ideas and tells them, in effect, "your ideas are less important than mine." The outcome, of course, is fewer ideas and less innovation. More