Use It For The Right Reasons

You have a little power. So you can set your own and other people’s schedules. Or assign people to projects. So what do you do … it’s obvious, right??

You give yourself the best schedule and put yourself on the project team with your friends. And you make sure to put your annoying coworker on the project team with someone else.?

What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with using your power to benefit yourself? You’ve worked hard for it. And it doesn’t hurt anyone. Or does it?

Consider This?

Power untethered from a good purpose is dangerous. When we use it for our own needs, gratification, or even revenge, there’s always a cost.?

When we assign project teams based on friendship, we put the project in jeopardy. When we compete for resources with our colleagues, to put our team ahead, we can jeopardize the financial well-being of the company.?

When, out of revenge for a past insult, we torpedo someone’s idea in public, we degrade the quality of the conversation and put decisions at risk. Sometimes using power for one’s own benefit can even cause death. Sometimes your empire collapses.?

That’s what happened to Napoleon. Napoleon was offended by Russia who had rebuffed his bid to collaborate against England, his rival. He was insanely jealous of British commercial success.?

Driven by pride, and inflated by his previous successes on the battlefield, Napoleon said, “Let Russia be crushed under my hatred of England.”?

It was an enormous gamble, and one he lost, along with the lives of millions of men. Convinced he could invade in June and be victorious before winter set in, he lost over a million men to battle, disease, and the freezing cold. Thousands deserted, and when all was said and done, his hatred and revenge led to the collapse of his empire.?

Putting it into play

You’re probably not leading armies into battle, but your domain doesn’t have to be a big one. And it doesn’t have to be earth-shattering in its importance. But no matter your sphere of influence, it’s important to ask: what drives my actions? Am I using my power out of ego, jealousy, or revenge? Am I trying to be better than my rival, prove my naysayers wrong?

If you tied your power to purpose, you would use your power to make policies that benefit future generations. You could distribute resources so people can accomplish things. You would set standards to ensure things are done properly and fairly. When you assign projects, you can ensure that tasks and roles are well-clarified, and objectives defined, so that people know what to do and can succeed in their tasks. You would take responsibility for mistakes and credit others for their success.??

So check in on the motives of your use of power. Using power for nothing more than your own gain backfires in the end. Like Gollum, you become a victim of the very power you crave, a slave to your passions and desires. Power untamed and unmoored from a higher purpose will devour you.