The day the power of love overrules the love of
power, the world will know peace --Mahatma Gandhi
How to Avoid Abusing Power
--by Dacher
Keltner, May 17, 2016
In
an adaptation from his new book, Dacher Keltner explains the secret to gaining
and keeping power: focus on the good of others.
For
the past twenty years, I have been carrying out experiments to find out how power is distributed in groups. I
have infiltrated college dorms and children's summer camps to document who rises
in power. I have brought entire sororities and fraternities into the lab,
capturing the substance and spread of individual's reputations within their
social networks. I have surreptitiously identified which members of groups are
gossiped about, and who receive gossip. To chart the experience of power, I have
studied what it feels like to be placed in positions of authority.
Findings
from this research converge on an organizing idea: Whereas the Machiavellian
approach to power assumes that individuals grab it through coercive force,
strategic deception, and the undermining of others, the science finds that power
is not grabbed but is given to individuals by groups. What this means is that
your ability to make a difference in the world—your power, as I define it—is
shaped by what other people think of you. Your capacity to alter the state of
others depends on their trust in you. Your ability to empower others depends on
their willingness to be influenced by you. Your power is constructed in the
judgments and actions of others. When they grant you power, they increase your
ability to make their lives better—or worse. Throughout history, making a
difference in the world has been seen as one of the most crucial and meaningful
aspects of human life. Polynesians called this sacred force mana. The tribes on
the North American plains referred to it as x'iopini. Today we might call it
purpose, mission, or calling—but perhaps the best name would be power. Our
purpose in life, the specific difference in the world that we are best suited to
make, is expressed in this universal experience of power.
When
we receive power, it feels like a vital force. It surges through the
body, propelling the individual forward in pursuit of goals. When an individual
feels powerful, he or she experiences higher levels of excitement, inspiration,
joy, and euphoria, all of which enable purposeful, goal-directed action. Feeling
powerful, the individual becomes sharply attuned to rewards in the environment
and quickly grasps what goals define any situation. At the same time, surges of
power make him or her less aware of the risks that attend any course of
action. This experience of power propels the individual forward in one of two
directions: toward the abuse of power and impulsive and unethical actions, or
toward benevolent behavior that advances the greater good.
Power
makes us feel less dependent upon others, freeing us to shift our focus
away from others to our own goals and desires. Power corrupts in four ways:
Power
leads to empathy deficits and diminished moral sentiments.
Power
leads to self-serving impulsivity.
Power
leads to incivility and disrespect.
Power
leads to narratives of exceptionalism.
The
abuse of power is costly in every imaginable way, from declining trust in
the community to compromised performance at work to poor health. By contrast,
when individuals use their power to advance the greater good, they and the
people whom they empower will be happier, healthier, and more productive.
In
my experiments, individuals who were kind and focused on others enjoyed enduring
power in schools, workplaces, and military units, avoiding the fall from power
that is so common in human social life. That enduring power drives from
a steadfast focus on others makes sense in light of what we know: groups give
power to individuals who advance the greater good, and they diminish the
standing of those who stray from this principle.
How
can we stop ourselves from abusing power? What insights can we glean from
science so that we avoid mistakes of the past and make the most of our
power? The ethical principles that follow are one approach to enabling people to
pursue this aspiration.
1.
Be aware of your feelings of power. The feeling of power is like a vital force
moving through your body, involving the acute sense of purpose that results when
we stir others to effective action. This feeling will guide you to the thrill of
making a difference in the world. People who excel in their power-- the
physician who improves the health of dozens of people a day, the high school
teacher who inches her students toward academic success, the writer whose piece
of fiction stirs others' imaginations-- they all know this. They feel the rush
of dopamine and vagus nerve activation in the purest moments of empowering
others and lifting up the greater good. If you remain aware of this feeling and
its context, you will not be entrapped by myths that power is money, or fame, or
social class, or a fancy title. Real power means enhancing the greater good, and
your feelings of power will direct you to the exact way you are best equipped to
do this.
2.
Practice Humility. Power is a gift-- the chance to make a difference in the
world. People who enact their power with humility enjoy more enduring power.
Ironically, the more we approach our power, our capacity to influence others,
with humility, the greater our power is. Don't be impressed by your own work--
stay critical of it. Accept and encourage the skepticism and the push-back of
others that have enabled you to make a difference in the world. Remember that
others have enabled you to make a difference in the world, and there is always
more work to do.
3.
Stay focused on others, and give. The most direct path to enduring power
is through generosity. Give resources, money, time, respect, and power to
others. In these acts of giving we empower others in our social networks,
enhancing our own ability to make a difference in the world. Such acts of
generosity are critical to strong societies, and empowered individuals are
happier. The mores we empower others, the greater good is increased. So give in
many ways. This will prove to be the most important foundation not only of your
making a lasting difference in the world but of your own sense of happiness and
meaning in life.
4.
Practice respect. By directing respect to others, we dignify them. We elevate
their standing. We empower them. That all members of a social collective deserve
some basic form of dignity is an ancient basis of equality, and it is expressed
in our day-to- day lives through respect. Practicing respect requires work.
There is no reward people value more than being esteemed and respected. Ask
questions. Listen with intent. Be curious about others. Acknowledge them.
Compliment and praise with gusto. Express gratitude.
5.
Change the psychological context of powerlessness. We can minimize the
tendency of some people to feel below others, so toxic to health and well-being,
by practicing the first four principles listed above. We can do more, though.
Pick one aspect of powerlessness in the world and change it for the better. The
rise in inequality and the persistence of poverty give us many opportunities for
such work. Attack the stigma that devalues women. Confront racism. Call into
question elements of society—solitary confinement, underfunded schools, police
brutality—that devalue people. Create opportunities within your community and
workplace that empower those who have suffered disempowerment due to moral
mistakes of the past.
Such
steps may not feel like the game-changing social revolutions of earlier
times, but they are quiet revolutions just the same. In every interaction, we
have the opportunity to practice empathy, to give, to express gratitude, and to
tell unifying stories. These practices make for social interactions among
strangers, friends, work colleagues, families, and community members that are
defined by commitment to the greater good, where the benefits people provide one
another outweigh the harms they cause.
Be The Change: Examine your relationship to
power, and experiment with implementing some of the insights from the above
article in your own life.
Sourced From www.dailygood.org
