Worried About Getting Burned by Power? How to Know If You Are Flying Too Close to the Sun

Welcome back to The Power Coach, the bi-weekly newsletter that skips “happy talk” and helps leaders ascend, one Hard Truth at a time.?

If this is our first time meeting, you can learn a little about me and the work I do by clicking here.

Last time, we tackled a controversial subject: how fear and intimidation can be useful leadership tactics. It’s a challenging skill, but it’s used effectively by many of society’s most powerful leaders to innovate, transform, and accelerate change.?

But it’s also a dangerous skill; one that is employed by dictators, cult leaders, and abusive CEOs. These are not the people I would ever want you to become, let alone copy. But I still urge you to study them. Why? Because what they do works – you just need to focus on the principles that underlie their strategies.?

My mission is to get these strategies, used in ethical ways, into the right heads and hands, so well-intended people like you can get ahead and get big things done. Too many hard-working, thoughtful leaders hit ceilings or get sidelined because they fail to embrace the full range of techniques required to navigate power and politics in their organizations. Indeed, leadership is not for the faint of heart.

Moreover, many aspiring leaders worry that using fear and intimidation, or other strategies with negative associations, will corrupt them and turn them into narcissistic monsters. Does power really corrupt? How to manage that concern?

“Power doesn't corrupt people, people corrupt power.” - William Gaddis

Which comes first, the power or the corruption??

I find it helps to think of power as nothing more than a force, which can be used for good, or for evil. What you do with power, ultimately is a personal choice.

Before examining how power gets used, let's explore how power can transform people. In 1968, educator Jane Elliot conducted what has come to be known as the Blue eyes/Brown eyes exercise . Elliot divided her class into two groups by eye color, telling them that the brown-eyed group was superior. She praised them more often, gave them more privileges, and talked down to the blue-eyed group. The children’s behavior changed fairly quickly. Being told they were more powerful caused the brown-eyed children to feel and act more powerfully, which led them to behave in ways that brought them even more power and outperform on tests and tasks. In contrast, the blue-eyed group became more timid, causing them to feel and act less powerfully and underperform, compared to the other group. The next week, Elliot reversed the exercise, making the blue-eyed children the “superior” group. The results were the same, but in reverse, although some of the more negative behaviors, like taunting by the “more superior group,” were less intense.?

While Elliot’s exercise was intended to teach children about racism and segregation, it also teaches us an important lesson about power (and about not having power). Power dynamics can create a self-reinforcing system, and research helps explain why. Elevated power is associated with increased rewards and freedom , which can lead to more “power-building behaviors” (a willingness to take, show command, be more assertive, for example), but can also lead to delusions of grandeur (the unwarranted belief in your superiority and the failure to recognize inequity). The more powerful we get, the more likely we are to overestimate our abilities, and we become less able to understand the perspectives of others, which can lead to arrogance, taking risks, and a disregard for others. Research also shows that those who feel less powerful can become more cautious and shy away from many behaviors that would help them increase their power, effectively giving away their power. You can see how this hierarchy can become self-perpetuating; the powerful get more powerful while the powerless become less so.?

Are you too close to the sun??

The old story warns of Icarus flying too close to the sun, failing to heed the warnings of Daedalus. The hubris of Icarus causes him to plummet to earth.?

In much the same way, people fear that building power will bring them down. The negative associations with power are strong! If we measure a person’s power-building actions on a scale of 1-10 (10 being high power, 1 being low), most people probably think they are at a 7 or 8, but in my experience, most are south of a 3. So in reality, most people aren’t too close to the sun… most people haven’t even gotten off the ground!

Still, let’s take a step back, because power can be a slippery slope we need to monitor closely. Notice how the research about power says “can lead to”. Therein lies the key: nothing is set in stone, we just need ways to effectively manage the downsides of power. Take notice as well of Elliot’s exercise; when she reversed the experiment, the more negative, taunting behaviors were less intense, perhaps because the new group in power had recently experienced being on the other side, giving them greater empathy.?

To examine these issues in practice, let’s look at a modern day Icarus that has dominated recent headlines: Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. In case you missed the book, podcast, documentary , and mini-series , here’s a quick rundown of what happened. Holmes is the former CEO of Theranos, a testing company that claimed to detect diseases, including cancer, with just a few drops of blood. Their technology would allow people to self-administer faster, inexpensive and less-intrusive tests. She became the world's youngest female self-made billionaire, and Theranos was valued at an estimated $9 billion. It was too good to be true. The fraud was exposed, as was the role Holmes played in covering it up. She was convicted of defrauding investors, and now faces up to 20 years in prison.?

Holmes isn’t a great role model for anyone, but there are valuable lessons we can take from her rise to the top. Holmes used her prestigious academic and business affiliations to generate trust and brand, she built a network of powerful venture capitalists, created an enticing narrative that appealed to the media, and harnessed those elements to cover up problems and remain in power for a remarkably long time.?

It’s possible she started with the best intentions, but the power went to her head, leading her to disregard warning signs. What would have kept her from going down that slippery slope??

Awareness is key: Setting up “trip wires”

To manage the downsides of power, look to personal and structural measures that can be put in place. One way to stay on track is to define your “trip wires.” Create a list of actions or behaviors that represent red flags that you are going too far. Do this before you start experimenting with strategies that build power, because as studies show, it’s easy to lose perspective as your power grows. I also recommend writing down what you want to accomplish with power when you have more of it. Finally, think about structural mechanisms. In planes, pilots are kept in check by co-pilots, who are encouraged to challenge their boss when they see things going awry.?

Having a clear mission, a set of red flags, and an empowered co-pilot can go a long way to helping you stay on track and harness the substantial upsides of power.?

Let’s talk about it

This week, ask yourself:?

How might I be playing into the self-reinforcing power hierarchy??

To build on this, consider these questions:?

• What could have been put in place to avoid the pitfalls that befell Holmes and Theranos??
• What I am most worried I will do with power?
• What “trip wires” can I put in place to ensure those won’t happen?

The Power Coach is here to ignite discussion and debate, so please, share your thoughts and your answers in the comment section below or send me a message!?

Powerfully yours,

Michael Wenderoth?

I help leaders ethically leverage power and politics to ascend.

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