Power disadvantages

What are some

disadvantagesof having 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 2815 and 2884 respectively.

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 2948.

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

Marshall Goldsmith.

Further inspiration

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-do-we-give-feedback-1761017

Disadvantage # 3

You will become overconfident and ignore advice

Studies of the effects of power on the power holder consistently find that power produces overconfidence, risk taking and insensitivity to others.

Over time, many powerful people come to see taking

advice as a sign of weakness. They become narcissistic,consumed with own ego.

SourcesPfeffer, Jeffrey: Power – Why some people have it and others don’t, location 3057.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d995d48e-2c4e-11e3-8b20-00144feab7de.html#axzz2h7RsyfQH

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.

In a study, high-power participants

ignored almost 2/3 of the advice they received.

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

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

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

Marshall Goldsmith.

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

Further inspiration

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-can-we-make-better-decisions-2058027

Disadvantage # 4

Your voice will change

Research shows that the voice of a person, who is given

more power, becomes steadier and less singsongy.

The voice of a person in a power position also varies in loudness more than the voice of a person in a low power position.

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/01/05/371964053/how-a-position-of-power-can-change-your-voice

Disadvantage # 5

You will easily lose your patience

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 3173.

Further inspiration

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-can-we-manage-our-emotions-1678947

Disadvantage # 6

You cannot haveboth power and autonomy

You can have power or autonomy.But you cannot have both.

Pfeffer, Jeffrey: Power – Why some people have it and others don’t, location 2815 and 2884 respectively.

Further inspiration

http://bigthink.com/ideas/24282http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/4f2990dc-f314-11e3-a3f8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz36QklvnLIhttp://managementlab.org/files/site/publications/labnotes/mlab-labnotes-019.pdfhttp://www.strategy-business.com/article/re00162?pg=allhttp://www.videoportal.sf.tv/video?id=5491ba95-6d3e-4d72-8320-5353c03da280http://blogs.wsj.com/management/2011/05/11/the-purpose-of-power/