To Clip a Butterfly's Wings

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Most senior leaders possess rented power. I use the word rented, because they must pay a price for that power, and the power itself is temporary. ?Rental price ranges vary, depending upon the organization and the negotiation of power with those who hold it, but a typical price range is between the cost of your time and the cost of your soul.? We can argue which one is at the high end of the cost scale, but for the sake of this short newsletter, let us say that the cost of your soul is the most expensive one.

Power is intoxicating.? If there were a breathalyzer to measure the intoxication levels of power in some leaders, the quantitative scale might even have an infinite sign somewhere on it.? ?But the eye-level test of power intoxication is what this story is about.? Please do not assume that just because your employees and teammates do not possess the referent power you may have as a senior leader, they are not watching and measuring everything you do.? Their individual power may not amount to the level of leadership power that a senior leader may possess, but their collective power can outweigh any one person’s level of power; especially in this age of the internet.

The point of exhaustion for many teammates is when they watch one of their senior leaders “clip the wings” of an organizational butterfly, simply for the sake of displayed power.? A butterfly can be described as an individual that is typically quiet, has a pleasant disposition with everyone in the organization, is a hard worker, and void of any referent leadership power of their own.? As a senior leader becomes intoxicated with power, and makes the mistake of singling out and belittling an organizational butterfly as an example of the power they believe they possess, the team can quickly turn on their leader and completely dismiss any previously perceived power.?

The question then becomes, how can a leader avoid power intoxication in the first place?? Some of the best-intentioned leaders have fallen victim to power intoxication, without ever knowing they are drunk.? One of the best ways to avoid leadership power intoxication is to give the team full permission to collectively veto one leadership decision a year.? An insecure leader may not like the idea of this risk mitigation, but it also shows early signs of their propensity to become power drunk.?

A butterfly in flight is a beautiful thing to watch (so is a butterfly sitting still).? When the butterfly takes flight, it is a quiet journey, but one that is noticed and admired by beasts of all sizes and ferocities.? Clipping the wings of a butterfly is not only a stomach-turning atrocity to nature, but it will piss off the once quiet lion who was peacefully observing.? You do not want to do that.

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