THE SUBTLE WAYS POWER CAN CORRUPT EVEN GOOD LEADERS

In July 1887, the historian and politician John Dalberg-Acton sat down to write a letter. It wasn’t his best, but it did contain one very memorable line: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

Today, nearly 150 years later, it’s not only still quoted but widely accepted as fact. It’s just one of those things that, if you say, no one will argue with. And whenever a story breaks about powerful people doing bad things, someone will sagely roll the quote out, and we’ll all nod in agreement. Which is fine, except for the fact that it is absolutely wrong, dangerously misleading, and very, very unhelpful.

Power does not corrupt people. It never has, and it never will.

It is not an evil force that turns people bad. It is just a force. And if we do unscrupulous or harmful things with it, then we are the ones to blame because, ultimately, we are the ones who chose to do those things. Yes, power may create opportunities that tempt us and make it easier to do bad things. But it does not force us to act in these ways. It is our choice, and we should not in any way excuse those who abuse or misuse their power by suggesting that it is to blame for their behaviour.

That is not to say, of course, that power is entirely innocent. Because it is a slippery, difficult and often toxic partner. With one hand it offers us the authority, control and influence required to lead, while with the other, it quietly undermines our effectiveness. And the vast majority of leaders underestimate just how often this happens, and the profound extent to which power can subtly and gradually affect them. Power may not corrupt us, but it definitely changes us.

For instance, one thing power does to every leader is create a rift – a psychological gap – between themselves and the people they lead. This isn’t anything we can avoid, it’s just part and parcel of being a leader. It changes how we view and approach others and how they view and approach us. And while there are things we can do that make this distance bigger or smaller, it’s always there. And there are three big consequences of it.

First, it warps and reduces information flow, as people tend to be less open with us and less likely to question our thinking. This can be near invisible to spot (after all, how do you know what people aren’t saying) and so most leaders underestimate just how much it happens.

Second, being a leader impairs our ability to be empathetic and understand others’ perspectives. This is because the distance between us and others means we’re less likely to notice subtle social cues, less able to spot people’s personal attributes, and more likely to rely on assumptions and stereotypes. And as a result, we are less able to accurately gauge what people are thinking and feeling.

Third, and as a direct result of the first two issues, we tend to rely more on our experience, instincts and what we already know, and make less use of others’ views. It also means we tend to be led more by what we think is important, which means the goals that feel most strongly about. And while that can sometimes be organisational goals, it can also be selfish, personal ones.

And again – all of this stems from the inevitable distance that comes with being a leader. Power doesn’t stop there, though – there are other ways it can be toxic. Most famously, power is an ego booster. It changes how we see ourselves, typically increasing self-esteem and self-worth. This can be positive, but it can also have negative effects on us, such as making us more disinhibited and more likely to express what we really think and feel. And it renders us more prone to overconfidence. And overconfident leaders are less likely to question themselves, less able to course-correct, and so more likely to fail. Which is unfortunate since, being more confident, they are also more likely to take risks both in and out of work.

Finally, power makes us more sensitive to threats. This is partly because everyone has insecurities, and the pressures that come with power don’t make them any easier. But it is also because being a leader gives us a new, unique insecurity held only by powerholders: the fear of losing power itself. The mere threat of this can amplify existing issues and insecurities and trigger defensive responses. Several factors can worsen this, too. For example, a strong need for power, fear of failure, a dominant leadership style, a need for clarity, and simple narcissism can all make us more reactive to perceived threats. And seniority and tenure can do the same, as the more power we have and the longer we’ve had it, the more attached to it we tend to be.

Add all this up, and it’s easy to see why power may not corrupt people, but it certainly makes it easier for them to be more isolated from others’ perspectives, more selfish in pursuing what is important to them, and more prideful and defensive. In fact, it positively encourages it.

There is a degree to which all this has always been true. Power is, after all, nothing new. But there is strong and increasing evidence that the toxic effects of power are growing worse, as the job of being a leader becomes more pressured, more exposed, and less forgiving than ever. There is also intriguing evidence that evolving social trends and political currents are driving cultural changes that are permeating organisations and exacerbating some of the negative effects of power on leaders.

For instance, with social media has come a growing awareness of the need to manage personal image. With cancel culture has come the lesson that we need to be careful with what we say. And the behaviour of many high-profile recent politicians has shifted cultural norms about what is acceptable behaviour for leaders. All of which has combined to increase the psychological gap leaders face and make it even harder to achieve free-flowing information.

Faced with this, the single biggest thing leaders can do to protect themselves from power’s toxic effects is to focus on these two key issues: minimising the distance created by leadership and enabling and improving information flow. That means doing all you can to discourage sycophancy and ingratiation, which may feel nice, but are nothing short of poison for leaders’ ability to be fully informed. It also means doing all you can to enable people to speak up to you, question you and challenge your thinking. And that, in turn, means being persistently, continuously questioning and curious, and then not being defensive when you hear something you don’t like.

These solutions aren’t rocket science. But in these days of overload and pressure, they can be a lot harder than they sound, as they require real discipline and systematic focus to maintain for any extebded period of time. Which brings us to a piece of research I conducted alongside colleagues a few years back. We looked at the personal attributes of leaders that most predicted both perceived integrity and sustained performance over time. And it wasn’t intelligence or innovativeness, or charm or charisma. It was diligence. Plain, old, boring diligence. Being persistent, systematic and carefully deliberate in behaving in certain ways.

In other words, what differentiated the good from the bad was not some inner capability but the way they chose to approach what they did. Even in those more susceptible to power’s toxic effects, who are more likely to cut corners and more liable to do things they shouldn’t, individuals who were more diligent and systematic were able to maintain probity. Those weho were less careful, less deliberate and less diligent, meanwhile, were more likely to succumb to power’s toxic effects. That’s why it is within everyone’s control to use power without breaking bad. Why we should never say that power corrupts. Because discipline and diligence are something we can all choose to do. And as dull as they sound, they are every leader’s best defence against the inevitable and invariable toxicity of power.

Written by Nik Kinley.
Have you read?
The World’s Best Medical Schools.
The World’s Best Universities.
The World’s Best International High Schools.
The World’s Best Business Schools.
The World’s Best Fashion Schools.
The World’s Best Hospitality And Hotel Management Schools.