In the most recent article of Greater Good magazine Professor Dacher Keltner of U. C. Berkeley writes on power. One of the oldest ideas (dating back to Machiavelli) is that in order to be in power you need to manipulate your foes, be cruel at times, and have other fear you rather than love you. Unfortunately this idea of power has pervaded our culture for many centuries, changed the way leaders act, business are run, and others are treated, often to unfortunate ends. Ironically, many of the ideals of Machiavelli are actually detrimental to being a good leader or maintaining power.

Across a growing number of studies it is becoming clear that individuals who use power with modesty, empathy, and attention to others needs are more likely to become more powerful and retain that power (this happens in chimpanzees and fortune 500 leaders alike). However, power itself can erode an individual’s ability to be modest, empathetic, and pay attention to others. Thus it isn’t so much that manipulating people leads to power, but more that power leads to manipulating people. In the words of British Historian Lord Acton “Power tends to corrupt: Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

The research on power is growing rapidly and is a great example of both the good and bad sides of human nature.

Further Reading:

The current article is in the March 15^th issue of Greater Good magazine. You can find Greater Good at:

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/greatergood/