Πηγή: A User’s Guide to Power
Power and immunity; can we correct the corrupting influence of power?
by Julie Diamond, Ph.D.
Question:
Which of the follow define power and which define magic?
1. The ability to influence the course of events
2. Having great influence or control over others
3. Ability to act or produce or effect
Answer: All of them.
Magic and power are closely related. They are having the ability to influence the world around us, but they do it through different means. Or do they?
Power is not only the ability to control and influence, but to not be influenced. Like magic, power also can make us invisible. How does it do that? Deborah Gruenfeld, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University, and one of the top researchers in the field of power, calls this power’s “disinhibiting effect.” Her research shows that power grants us immunity from social pressures and norms to which others are prone. Like Harry Potter’s Invisibility Cloak, when we have power, we become invisible: we’re protected from peer pressure, social norms, and others’ opinions that would otherwise constrain us.
Conventional wisdom about power tells us that people in power act this way because of their personality: they’re megalomaniacs, narcissists, psychopaths, and ego maniacs who are drawn to positions of power. As if disinhibition were a pre-existing condition. But Gruenfeld’s research shows otherwise. When conditions can be manipulated to create arbitrary and temporary power differentials between people of equal status, the same behavior applies. She shows this in one of her favorite studies conducted by a co-author who:
used groups of three undergraduates who were told they were participating in a study of their attitudes about a number of different social issues. They were to discuss each issue, come to a group position, and write a brief essay on each one. Before they started, one of the three was chosen at random to evaluate the performance of the other two and assign points that reflected how well they performed. The points mattered because they went into a lottery that affected their chances of winning a cash bonus when the experiment was over. About 30 minutes into the experiment, the experimenter came into the room with a plate of cookies. There were five cookies on the plate and three people in the room. Everyone can take one cookie with no tension, there’s nothing awkward there, but then you have two cookies left and three people in the room. What we found is that not only did the participants in high power eat more cookies, but they ate with greater abandon and were more likely to get food on their faces and crumbs on the table
There is no doubt, as she and her co- authors say
Those with power roam in a very different psychological space than those without power.
Is it good or bad? Well, without immunity, leaders would be buffeted about by the pressures and demands of those lobbying them. When you’re a leader, everyone wants or needs something from you. You are constantly lobbied and pressured by factions, interests groups, advisors, and public opinion. Without this magical immunity, you couldn’t think straight, your head would be spinning with everyone else’s opinions, criticisms, and demands. But like every magical power, the magic has to be managed.
The same immunity that allows us to make decisions in spite of peer pressure can make us feel above the law, impervious to constraints and doubts, even recklessly so. While it gives us the independence to think outside the box, it also reduces the impact of feedback from the human community that make us ethical beings.
Here’s the tricky thing. It’s a sort of ‘perfect storm’ for abuse of power: we are more self-directed, not predisposed to listen to or solicit others’ advice, and it’s magnified by the fact that we are surrounded by people who seek our approval, benefit from being associated with us, and depend on us for promotion or advancement. And so, they cease being honest with us. We can become dangerously unmoored from the correcting influences of friends, advisors, spouses, and colleagues who challenge us, pressure us, and ultimately keep us from going astray.
In the research I’m doing for my book on power, it’s become clear that power does indeed have a corrupting influence. And this disinhibition, coupled with the isolation from feedback, is one of the main causes of that corruption. What can we do about it?
A. Put yourself in a beginner role. Somewhere. Anywhere. Cultivate experiences, activities and friends which challenge your knowledge, sense of certainty, and expertise. It’s imperative that you are reflected by others outside your high ranking role in some area of your life.
B.Ask friends, colleagues, and mentors to be honest with you. Ask them to tell you if they can’t be.
C. Be aware of the dual roles and conflict of interests in those closest to you. What do they stand to gain and lose by being honest with you? What do you stand to gain and lose if they are not honest with you?
D. Enjoy and use your disinhibition, but notice whether others have the same privilege. If not, try to use your own disinhibition to their advantage.