“We rise in power and make a difference in the world due to what is best about human nature, but we fall from power due to what is worst.” — Dacher Keltner
Several years ago, I remember reading a fascinating article about power and how it changes brains — and not for the better.
Researcher Dacher Keltner has compared the feeling of power to brain damage, noting that people with lots of authority tend to behave “like neurological patients with a damaged orbito-frontal lobe, a brain area that’s crucial for empathy and decision-making. Even the most virtuous people can be undone by the corner office.“
You’ve probably observed this for yourself: The nice person you used to know changed once they got a little power. Power does change people. It’s not limited by profession or gender, either. You find it in politics and in sororities, in the boardroom and in the local HOA.
You know the old saying: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In Keltner’s 2016 book “The Power Paradox: The Surprising and Sobering Science of How We Gain and Lose Influence,” he notes, “We gain a capacity to make a difference in the world by enhancing the lives of others, but the very experience of having power and privilege leads us to behave, in our worst moments, like impulsive, out-of-control sociopaths.”
Power also creates hypocrites. People (usually) know the right thing to do, but their sense of power allows them to rationalize away ethical lapses. From the world of politics to the boardroom to college sororities, the examples are endless. One study asked individuals to judge others who would do things like drive too fast if they were late for an appointment. People in the high-power group “consistently said it was worse when others committed those crimes than when they did themselves. In other words, the feeling of eminence led people to conclude that they had a good reason for speeding — they’re important people, with important things to do — but that everyone else should follow the posted signs.”
A Wall Street Journal article from 2010 points out that “people in power tend to reliably overestimate their moral virtue, which leads them to stifle oversight. They lobby against regulators, and fill corporate boards with their friends. The end result is sometimes power at its most dangerous.” Those same flawed thought processes that come with power also distort our ability to evaluate information and make complex decisions. Ouch.
So how do people with positions of power avoid the “brain damage” potentially inflicted?
First, surround yourself with people who are willing to tell you the truth - and don’t punish them when they do. Not all your jokes are funny, not all your ideas are brilliant and sometimes, you really need a breath mint.
Second, make sure that corner office has lots of windows. Don’t hide behind closed doors and get into situations where you act anonymously. Numerous studies have shown that when we think we are alone or that “no one will know,” we make some pretty bad decisions.
Third, know your guiding principles and stick to them. Clayton Christensen, in his powerful little book, “How Will You Measure Your Life” shares that, “It is easier to hold your principles 100 percent of the time than 98 percent of the time.” Straying from your principles because “the ends justify the means” often ends up in a loss of trust, loss of reputation, loss of relationships and more.
Fourth, be humble. Not faux humble but Spider-Man humble: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Take that responsibility seriously and use it to do good.
Keltner observes: “Our influence, the lasting difference that we make in the world, is ultimately only as good as what others think of us. Having enduring power is a privilege that depends on other people continuing to give it to us.”
Holly Richardson loves it when she see people in positions of power use it for good. This week, she saw it when Sen. Jeff Flake spoke truth to power. Amen, brother.