Over the decades, we have seen the detrimental consequences that arise from the pursuit of power, particularly by bosses who prioritize self-interest and disregard the welfare of others. Power, at its worse, can manifest through such means as coercion, deception, favoritism, and force.
Unfortunately, it is how many organizations still operate. But we’ve entered a new era of power that demands attention. In The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and a foremost expert on human emotions, brings people in positions of power face-to-face with a hard truth: Leaders must dispose of traditional and currently-held beliefs about power to successfully motivate and engage today’s employees.
The current (old) power model
In The Prince, Machiavelli advises rulers to employ cunning, manipulation, and even ruthlessness to achieve their goals. Transferring that to a business environment, when such leaders gain traditional power over time, it gets to their heads and often leads them to lose the very qualities that made them influential in the first place.
Consequently, people in power roles lose touch with how others feel. Empathy, generosity, and open-mindedness go missing in exchange for disregard, fear, and control.
The new way to gain power
With workplaces becoming increasingly freer and more autonomous, collaborative and engaging, and diverse in every way, Machiavelli’s perspective on power contrasts with Keltner’s humanistic approach, based on his decades of research. He states that empathy, respect, advocacy, social intelligence and attentiveness to human feelings are elements of the new power model of the 21st century.
From The Power Paradox:
Groups give us power when we are enthusiastic, speak up, make bold assertions, and express an interest in others. Our capacity to influence rises when we practice kindness, express appreciation, cooperate, and dignify what others say and do. We are more likely to make a difference in the world when we are focused, articulate clear purposes and courses of action, and keep others on task. We rise in power when we provide calm and remind people of broader perspectives during times of stress, tell stories that calm during times of tension, and practice kind speech. Our opportunity for influence increases when we are open and ask great questions, listen to others with receptive minds, and offer playful ideas and novel perspectives.
The evidence is clear that when leaders rise in power through servant leadership, the people they empower are happier, healthier, and sustainably more productive. Out with the old, in with the new.
