CHAPTER 6

DANGER—
HIGH VOLTAGE

“Great men are almost always bad.”

—LORD ACTON

Those old grainy black-and-white films still haunt me—the ones of Hiroshima, after the crew of a B-29 bomber called the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city toward the end of World War II: the mushroom cloud followed by the firestorm and the absolute devastation to the city and its inhabitants. All we see is rubble, a few tree stumps, and dead bodies for miles in every direction. That event galvanized the world’s attention. People everywhere suddenly became aware of the exponential power of nuclear energy, and they feared what could happen if it were misdirected or carelessly controlled.

Today we worry about Iran developing the bomb. We are apprehensive about what a terrorist could do with a suitcase-sized nuclear device. We are incredulous when really smart people design a fail-safe system, like the one at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, that turns out to be so vulnerable. By placing the power generators for the backup cooling pumps on the beach below the reactor building, they practically dared the 2011 tsunami that struck Japan to slam into this nuclear plant.

Nuclear power plants are designed to meet the standards of multiple stress tests—various scenarios that have the potential, individually or in combination, to overload a plant’s safety systems. If the operating protocols and containment structures of a nuclear power plant are compromised either by human error or the forces of nature, the results can be catastrophic. The Tōhoku earthquake in 2011 (9.0 on the Richter scale) and its resulting 133-foot tsunami did just that.¹

Still, the enormous benefits of nuclear power compel many countries to continue its use. A relatively small nuclear plant can power millions of homes and businesses with minimal carbon emissions. In fact, France derives 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear energy.² And in the United States the safety record of nuclear plants is excellent.³

Nuclear power remains such a controversial topic because although it poses considerable risks and dangers, like the threat of a terrorist attack or the recent meltdown in Japan, it also provides a substantial amount of clean energy.

PERSONAL POWER AND THE STRESS TEST

Like nuclear power, the power we exercise over others holds enormous potential to be either productive or destructive. Initially, as we gain power, our aspirations are positive and we expect to use it to do great things. Unfortunately, many with power today are simply not passing the stress test.

The purpose of this chapter is to alert us to how power can unintentionally mold us into someone we do not want to be and to highlight the containment structures and safety protocols we need to use power well. First, we need to consider how a leader actually gets power. In human endeavors, power emanates from a variety of sources.

SOURCES OF POWER

The position and title a person holds in an organization bestows power. This is true for all positions. Even the guy in the mailroom has some power because of his position, which allows him to dispense or withhold something we want. The one with the most positional power in an organization, other than the board of directors, is the chief executive officer.

Power also flows from having knowledge, skill, and expertise. I know a consultant to the paper industry who visited a plant for five minutes and charged the company $15,000. He justified his high fee because he was the only one who knew that the scrubbers on their malfunctioning smokestacks were upside down. Technical experts like information technology workers who solve big problems and control huge resources have significant power based upon what they know.

We can also be powerful because of who we know or represent. This type of power results from being connected in some way to powerful people. We have likely experienced this power, because we sometimes gain access to people or resources that our own standing would not permit. Our connection to powerful people and use of another person’s name can open doors that we cannot.

Influence is also a type of power. A leader with influence holds sway over others not from position but rather from persuasion. Whether for good or bad, effective or ineffective, we exercise power over those we influence. Power often attends anyone with ideas and vision that capture the imagination of others. Consider Martin Luther King, Jr., who exercised power over millions of people because he had a dream that resonated with the hopes and aspirations of so many. Bernie Madoff also had great influence, but he used his power for very dark, self-serving ends.

A leader with influence holds
sway over others not from position
but rather from persuasion.

Many corporate executives understand the power of influence because it increasingly has played a major role in how corporations function. As organizational structures become flatter and more matrixed, managers accomplish the work of their organization by influencing co-workers over whom they have no formal authority. Learning to use this type of power well is a critical skill in many organizations.

Power derived from influence on the surface may seem nobler and less subject to its corrupting effect. In fact, with the power of influence we are no less vulnerable than if we have a position of power.

POWER CORRUPTS

Most people who derive power from any of the above sources are not bad—they are often good people with good intentions. Individuals on the rise in organizations often exhibit discipline, good judgment, respect for others, and similar redeeming qualities. Managers with these qualities tend to be promoted in organizations. These positive characteristics along with the achievement of results help them advance into higher levels of leadership. Surprisingly, many of these once agreeable individuals who find themselves in positions of significant power display a radical shift in their behavior. They become dismissive of others, aloof, self-important, and, at times, even reckless. After they occupy a higher level job for a while, the unanticipated pressures of the position can overwhelm their personal containment systems, marring their promising careers.

Regardless of the source, power can be directed to benefit others or to pursue a more self-serving purpose. Its very nature puts our core motivations at risk. Power contains certain spores, which if inhaled can mold us and lead to an unruly self-focus. Lord Acton’s well-known quote states it more bluntly: “Power . . . corrupt[s] . . .”

As I write this, a huge scandal is emerging. Early reports indicate the U.S. Internal Revenue Service abused its authority by targeting certain groups for audits or added processing steps purely for political purposes.⁴ Although much remains to be learned about what actually happened and who was responsible, it seems clear that power breached the core of some leaders. Unregulated power of any type has that effect. Arrogance and a self-serving focus are the frequent consequences.

Although power is inherently neither good nor bad, unregulated power is a highly potent force that can exert an insidious effect on our core when we obtain it. For most people, power is acquired slowly, and therefore, its core-altering effect is subtle. Power is odorless and tasteless like carbon monoxide and can overpower us without warning. This force maintains a growing pressure on our volition, and absent thoughtful reflection and purposeful containment, we unthinkingly begin using this force to advance self-serving ends.

We will likely never know exactly why fired CIA head and former four-star general David Petraeus went off the rails, but we would have to put power high on the list of suspects. Four-star generals are not well paid by corporate standards, but the perks are amazing: armored limousine, personal driver, jets, and a huge staff. Navigating the thirty years or so it takes to reach that rank is incredibly demanding and dangerous. As officers rise in rank, they become increasingly insular, surrounded mostly by a staff who needs their position to get promoted—not exactly an incubator for contrary ideas. It is very easy for the power to erode their core. The self-focus that power fosters can lead to a perceived sense of self-importance. After all their achievements, perhaps it becomes easy for senior officers to believe that they are great and have risen above the rules.⁵

Influential people we admire and view as trustworthy are not immune to power’s potential impact to their core—nor are we. Once tasted, our appetite for power can grow. Power can be highly addictive. A newly minted CEO told me that he experienced a creeping dark sway of his newly bestowed power oozing into his actions. He did not like who he was becoming—that he was beginning to see others as a means to an end, and that he was constantly expecting others to serve him. Fortunately, his self-awareness served as an early-warning system, so that he could make some dramatic changes to contain the influence of the power he assumed with his new position and title.

Once tasted, our appetite for power can
grow. Power can be highly addictive.

POWER CAN BE SELF-RIGHTEOUS

In one study, psychologists asked members of a high-power group about speeding. The group concluded that it was okay for them to speed, but that it was important for others to follow the posted limit. Their rationale was that powerful people are important and had a justifiable reason for speeding.⁶ It seems the more powerful we become, the more likely we are to overestimate our own moral virtue, and then paradoxically, to act in a morally expedient manner.

Unchecked power fuels arrogance and the belief that we are smarter and more capable than, in reality, we may be. Under no circumstance should we ever act like the leader in the cartoon on the following page.

As we become more powerful, we rely too much on our intuition, possibly ignoring the facts and the input of others that served us so effectively during our ascent. We tend to overreach and make bad decisions.

Regardless of our position on America’s involvement in Mid-East wars, most would affirm that many noble, heroic, and selfless acts have been performed in the attempt to liberate Iraq and Afghanistan. By contrast, we were shocked and dismayed to see U.S. military guards acting shamefully at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. We wonder how presumably good, moral, well-intentioned soldiers could treat military prisoners with utter disregard for their basic human dignity. Although the explanations are complex and differ from one person to another, suffice it to say that power possesses great potential for good or evil. Unregulated power can erode our ethical underpinnings. Any compromise to our core makes us vulnerable to dark motives, and power provides a potent fuel for those motives.

WHAT IF WE WERE PRISON GUARDS?

One famous study, the Stanford Prison Experiment, demonstrated how power molds our attitudes toward others. The bottom floor of Stanford University’s psychology building became a temporary “prison,” and student volunteers were designated as either “prisoners” or “guards.” After being arrested, the prisoners were held in small cells. The psychology professor who led the study, Philip Zimbardo, was shocked at how quickly the experimental subjects adopted their roles. Most notably, within the first two days many of those imbued with the power of being guards became abusive, hostile, and dehumanizing toward the prisoners. The behavioral changes in the guards and the prisoners were so stunning that the planned two-week experiment had to be suspended after six days, particularly to avert the prisoners’ extreme stress reactions.⁷ If nothing else, this study confirms how easily and quickly unregulated power can corrupt us.

Sometimes I wonder if airport screening has become a gargantuan Stanford Prison Experiment. Although I deeply appreciate the stress-filled role that well-meaning TSA agents play in keeping us safe when we fly, I cannot help but notice how the power inherent in the position seems to affect the judgment and attitude of some agents. I am revolted when an agent violates basic decency and common sense by insisting a 95-year-old grandmother remove her incontinence diaper for inspection.⁸ I often encounter friendly, service-minded agents, but many others seem to believe arrogance and rudeness are job requirements. Unchecked power can have that effect on anyone.

RESPONSIBLE USE OF POWER

Members of an organization typically grow in power over the course of their careers. Self-awareness and self-regulation must grow in direct proportion to the power we exert.

The responsible use of power must be intentionally cultivated over time and through experience. Many companies go to great lengths to groom and train younger associates to develop the critical competencies they need to perform at the next level or two in the organization. Job experience and feedback from insightful bosses often prepare a person to handle power more responsibly. Giving an emerging leader power in small increments also helps develop responsible leaders. When the development process works well, it teaches a young associate that the purpose of power is to implement strategies and to reach difficult goals while valuing and respecting the team that accomplishes the goals.

The purpose of power is to implement strategies
and to reach difficult goals while valuing and
respecting the team that accomplishes the goals.

Recently I have been studying the progress of a young executive with interest. He has a major responsibility in a growing company, but no one reports to him. He can only get things done through influence. I believe the CEO is wise to give this talented individual a lot of responsibility while also making it essential that he cultivate good relationships with the colleagues whose support he must have to accomplish his objectives. It’s only a matter of time before this promising young individual does have a position of power over others, but he will have learned the benefits of creating alignment with others to get things done. This is an effective development process to help him learn to handle power responsibly.

Feedback from an insightful boss can also prove vital in helping us learn to use power with care. A good friend who was gung ho about his job and determined to prove his merit would often call people at home to discuss work-related matters. When his boss found out, he gave him some very tough feedback about respecting his employees’ personal boundaries. He said that, unless the building was on fire, to never interrupt someone’s dinner hour again. After serving in numerous roles, my friend eventually went on to be the CEO of a major company. By then, he had learned to handle power responsibly and demonstrated great self-awareness about the potential abuses of it.

Over the years I have worked with a number of family-owned businesses. A common problem I see is when a family member (often the child or grandchild of the owner) gets placed in a role and receives a title that exceeds his or her experience and competence. The family member who is given a role and assumes power not commensurate with his or her maturity typically does not have a strongly developed core—one forged in the furnace of experience to regulate their power well. When an organization bestows a position or title on an emerging leader who everyone knows is not equipped to handle the power inherent in the role responsibly, employees do not respect or trust that leader. That person is also much more vulnerable to power’s dark influence.

Recent findings from brain research also support the idea that emerging leaders should be given power in a more measured way based upon maturity. Areas of the brain responsible for planning, prioritizing, and controlling impulses are the last to mature.⁹ We can probably recall our own personal illustrations demonstrating this phenomenon! If memory fails you, call your parents or siblings or your high school friends for some good examples.

When we are not prepared to handle power well, the consequences are often harsh. One afternoon during a family vacation, I walked in from the surf with my back to the ocean oblivious to a fifteen-foot rogue wave towering over me. Suddenly, I was slammed to the ocean floor so hard that the breath was knocked out of me. Then I was run through what felt like the spin cycle of an industrial-strength washing machine and sandblasted over every square inch of my body. Gaining power in whatever role we serve puts us at a great risk when the power commensurate with our role is not used carefully. If we turn our back to those inherent dangers, we can be knocked to the floor by an unanticipated tsunami of events from which we may never recover.

THE ULTIMATE TEST

Abraham Lincoln said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Power is dangerous and should be handled with great care. If the containment structure of our core is undeveloped, we have to be especially vigilant. An undeveloped core is like the levees around New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. They could not contain the storm’s power. We live in a volatile, unpredictable world in which many of the conventional rules of corporate governance have failed to contain and direct many leaders’ power. Today, as perhaps never before, corporate leaders must possess an extraordinarily resilient core to pass the stress tests that the marketplace metes out so freely.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity,
but if you want to test a man’s
character, give him power.”
—ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Examples of stress tests that we must be ready to handle are:

       ♦  How we handle disagreements with those who report to us.

       ♦  How we handle disagreements with peers in our organization.

       ♦  Our willingness to be accountable to others for our decisions and actions.

       ♦  The temptation to take personal credit for results others have achieved.

       ♦  Ensuring that our actions serve the best interests of the organization versus promoting our own advancement.

We may not feel that we are vulnerable to power’s dark effect because it is often too subtle to detect. This obscures the reality that within all of us the seeds for susceptibility are sewn. As we established in Chapter 5, we have a shadow. When we exercise the courage to admit to ourselves that all our motives are not necessarily altruistic and noble, we have taken a crucial step in the profound journey toward the impact we earnestly seek to achieve.

I spoke with a senior officer of a company recently. He openly confessed that he worries that he could get caught up in his own importance and miss the right ways to lead his company and serve its members. He acknowledged that he could easily wake up one morning and find that he had blindly followed a path to his own personal destruction. When we possess power, self-examination and self-awareness serve like safety protocols in a nuclear plant, prompting us to consider the condition of our personal core.

SAFE HARNESSING

The safe harnessing of power is fundamental to being a great leader who makes an impact. We must intentionally examine ourselves. We need to look deep to ask if we are controlling power or if power is controlling us. We must appreciate that our assumption of power has immense potential to help us make a positive difference in the lives of those we serve or to drive us to narcissistic self-interest. We must adopt “operating protocols” and “safety systems” to assuage power’s erosion of our core. We must wrap this force in a containment structure channeling whatever power we might have in directions that serve the common good. Safety systems and containment structures to protect our personal core are the topics for the remainder of the book. If such protections are not put in place, we too will inevitably become one of Lord Acton’s powerful but bad people.

When we use power for self-serving ends we often get compliance from those we lead, but we do not engage their commitment to willingly follow us. Reflect on how you use power and in what ways you need to make some changes. Power is best used to serve others. Its careful regulation is the subject of the next chapter.