Disadvantages of power

Research about disadvantages of having power.

1. Disadvantages
of power

2. Disadvantage # 1
You will be watched all the time

3. 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.

4. Disadvantage # 2
You will not get honest feedback

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Disadvantage # 3
You will become overconfident

10. 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

11. The more power a leader holds, the more likely he or she is to
overestimatehis or her skills and abilities.
https://hbr.org/2018/01/what-self-awareness-really-is-and-how-to-cultivate-it

12. 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

13. Disadvantage # 4
You will talk more and listen less

14. When people are put in positions of power,
they start talking more.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3587424083
Page 259.

15. 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

16. 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

17. Disadvantage # 5
You will ignore advice

18. 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.

19. When people are put in positions of power, theystart
ignoring how less powerful people react to
their behaviour.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3587424083
Page 259.

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. Disadvantage # 6
You will become more focused
on yourself

24. 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

25. 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.

26. It’s easier to lose your patience when you’re in power, for example
because you may be more concerned about yourselfthan about
the feelings of others.
Pfeffer, Jeffrey: Power –Why some people have it and others don’t, location 3150.

27. Disadvantage # 7
You will become less sensitive
towards others

28. When people are put in positions of power,
they start acting more rudely.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3587424083
Page 259.

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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/