Disadvantages of power

Disadvantages of power

Disadvantage # 1 You will be watched all the time

When you have power, people will watch  how you perform.  how you dress.  how you spend your time.  who you spend your time with.  how you act in non-related domains.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey: Power – Why some people have it and others don’t, location 2800.

Disadvantage # 2 You will not get honest feedback

The higher you rise in an organization, the more people are going to tell you that you are right.

This leads to an absence of critical thought and makes it difficult for senior leaders to get the truth.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey: Power – Why some people have it and others don’t, location 2950.

When you are successful, everyone laughs at your jokes to pretend you are smart. So you start feeling better and better about yourself.

http://www.timesascent.com/career-advice/Lessons-from-the-guru/153532

The more powerful you become, the harder it is for people to give you negative feedback. People are afraid.

http://www.timesascent.com/career-advice/Lessons-from-the-guru/153532

The more status and power a person has, the more she or he will surround himself with people who flatter him.

https://hbr.org/2018/08/why-great-success-can-bring-out-the-worst-parts-of-our-personalities

Disadvantage # 3 You will become overconfident

Power produces overconfidence and

risk taking.

Sources Pfeffer, Jeffrey: Power – Why some people have it and others don’t, location 3000. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d995d48e-2c4e-11e3-8b20-00144feab7de.html#axzz2h7RsyfQH

The more power a leader holds, the more likely he or she is to overestimate his or her skills and abilities.

https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-to-cultivate-it

One of the real dangers of leader selection in many organizations is that leaders are selected for overconfidence.

We associate leadership with decisiveness.

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/strategic_decisions_when_can_you_trust_your_gut

Disadvantage # 4 You will talk more and listen less

When people are put in positions of power, they start talking more.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3587424083 Page 259.

The better we feel about ourselves, the harder it is

to take negative feedback.

http://www.timesascent.com/career-advice/Lessons-from-the-guru/153532

As a person’s power grows, his or her willingness to listen shrinks.

Why? Because 1. he / she thinks he / she knows more than others.

2. seeking feedback will come at a cost.

https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-to-cultivate-it

Disadvantage # 5 You will ignore advice

When people are put in positions of power, they start ignoring what other people say or want.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3587424083 Page 259.

When people are put in positions of power, they start

ignoring how less powerful people react to their behaviour.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3587424083 Page 259.

For powerful people taking advice is seen

as a sign of weakness.

Sources Pfeffer, Jeffrey: Power – Why some people have it and others don’t, location 3000. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d995d48e-2c4e-11e3-8b20-00144feab7de.html#axzz2h7RsyfQH

In a study, high-power participants ignored almost 2/3 of the advice they received.

When individuals in powerful positions receive advice from experts, they feel competitive. This feeling inflates their confidence and leads them to dismiss what the experts are telling them.

http://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/10996800 https://hbr.org/2015/01/the-art-of-giving-and-receiving-advice

Overconfidence is a powerful source of illusions, primarily determined by the quality and coherence of the story that you can construct, not by its validity.

If people can construct a simple and coherent story, they will feel confident regardless of how well grounded it is in reality. http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/strategic_decisions_when_can_you_trust_your_gut

Disadvantage # 6 You will become more focused on yourself

Power produces insensitivity to others. Powerful become

narcissistic, consumed with own ego.

Sources Pfeffer, Jeffrey: Power – Why some people have it and others don’t, location 3000. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d995d48e-2c4e-11e3-8b20-00144feab7de.html#axzz2h7RsyfQH

When people are put in positions of power, they start treating any situation or person as a means for satisfying their own needs and taking what they want for themselves.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3587424083 Page 259.

It’s easier to lose your patience when you’re in power, for example because you may be more concerned about yourself than about the feelings of others.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey: Power – Why some people have it and others don’t, location 3150.

Disadvantage # 7 You will become less sensitive towards others

When people are put in positions of power, they start acting more rudely.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3587424083 Page 259.

Power makes people feel expansive, energized, omnipotent, hungry for rewards, and immune to risk.

That opens us up to rash, rude, and unethical actions.

https://hbr.org/2016/10/dont-let-power-corrupt-you

People in positions of corporate power are three times as likely as those at the lower rungs of the ladder to interrupt co-workers, multitask during meetings, raise their voices, and say insulting

things.

https://hbr.org/2016/10/dont-let-power-corrupt-you

Other sources of inspiration http://bigthink.com/ideas/24282 http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/4f2990dc-f314-11e3-a3f8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz36QklvnLI http://managementlab.org/files/site/publications/labnotes/mlab-labnotes-019.pdf http://www.strategy-business.com/article/re00162?pg=all http://www.videoportal.sf.tv/video?id=5491ba95-6d3e-4d72-8320-5353c03da280 http://blogs.wsj.com/management/2011/05/11/the-purpose-of-power/