People and organizations case

Are You Addicted to Power?

The design of firms fosters power intoxication in their leaders.

Greg, a top executive at a large financial institution,

enjoyed the status that came with his job. He liked

receiving attention and having people defer to him.

He also relished rubbing shoulders with others in

power. At the yearly meetings of the World

Economic Forum in Davos, he always experienced a

high from exchanging ideas with people he read

about in the press. To Greg, power and money was

what life was all about. This made losing his job all

the more of a blow.

Overnight Greg’s lifestyle changed dramatically.

The people he used to associate with were no longer

interested in him. He was thrown out of the limelight

and cut off from the action. All the social perks his

professional role gave him vanished abruptly. Greg

came to realise that he didn’t have any real,

meaningful relationships in the business world. He

felt stressed out and unsure of who he truly was.

Greg also struggled at home. He and his wife had

become like roommates. To compensate, Greg

engaged in superficial affairs and one-night stands,

none of which gave him much satisfaction. He

secured a seat on the board of a few companies, but

this didn’t give him the same high as when he was

really in charge. It dawned on him that he had little

inner resources to draw on. He wondered whether,

in his previous life, he had given away his soul in

exchange for recognition, money and power.

Handling power

If reading Greg’s story led to an “aha!” moment for

you, consider the following questions:

Do you like telling people what to do?

Do you define yourself very much by your

title and net worth?

Do you always need to win?

Do you enjoy the special treatment that

comes with your position?

Do you like to impress people?

If your answers are affirmative, it may suggest that

you are too attached to power and all its trappings.

But if that’s the case, you’re hardly alone. You

should realise, however, that power is corrosive.

History is full of power addicts who ultimately

destroyed themselves. To satisfy their craving for

power, many are prepared to make compromises,

which they may regret later. You should also think

how you will react if one day you no longer have

power.

The film “Lord of the Rings” is a great visual

reminder of the addictiveness of power and its

ability to alter a person’s character. The Ring (the

artefact central to the plot) progressively corrupts

its bearers. It transforms Sméagol, a joyful hobbit,

into Gollum, a character whose personality traits

range from withdrawal and isolation to suspicion

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and anger, behaviour patterns that eventually lead

to his demise. Even Frodo, the hero of the story,

shows features of addiction, as he proves unable to

relinquish the Ring by his own accord.

The roots of power seeking

For most people, power means having control. We

can thus hypothesise that those who strive for power

are trying to overcome feelings of powerlessness.

It’s their way of compensating for feelings of

insecurity – a defence against early feelings of

inadequacy, weakness, fear, being unlovable or

unloved. The desire for power over others is often a

weakness disguised as strength.

Many of the world’s most powerful people fit this

profile. A number of them were neglected or

powerless when they were young. Their striving to

dominate can be viewed as a way for them to ensure

that they will never be in such a vulnerable situation

again.

The pursuit of power may also have a neurochemical

component. Having power over others has an

intoxicating effect. It boosts testosterone, which in

turn increases the supply of dopamine (a feel-good

neurotransmitter) in the brain’s reward system. This

dopamine rush explains the addictive quality of

power and why it’s so hard to let it go.

A test of a person’s character

However, an excess of dopamine can impact

cognitive and emotional functioning. It can reduce

empathy, promote hubristic and impulsive

behaviour, thus contributing to gross errors of

judgment and unnecessary risk taking. Eventually,

people with too much power may even lose their

sense of reality and their moral bearings. Before

they know it, they live in an echo chamber,

believing their own press and imagining that they

are infallible.

Lord Acton’s statement, “Power tends to

corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”,

may have more than a kernel of truth. No wonder

that society’s demands for moral authority and

character increase with the importance of the

position. Possessing much power imposes great

responsibility.

Unfortunately, given the addictive qualities of

power, no one is wise or good enough to be trusted

with too much of it. Attempts at combining wisdom

and power have seldom been successful. The

greater the power, the greater the potential for

abuse. Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Power is my

mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to

allow anyone to take her away from me.” Unaware

of the psycho-physiological roots of power seeking,

people who hold power will not willingly abandon it.

According to Abraham Lincoln: “Nearly all men can

stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s

character, give him power.”

Checks and balances needed

In democracies, the free press and the separation of

powers exist to reduce the risk of political leaders

turning into power addicts. Business organisations,

however, face an even greater challenge. Far from

being democratic institutions, most corporations

concentrate power at the top, fostering power

addiction. Indeed, examples of reckless corporate

behaviour abound. CEOs go on irresponsible M&A

adventures that rarely benefit their organisation.

Senior bankers and other masters of the universe

have contributed to catastrophic financial crises.

Excessive compensation packages can be seen as

another side effect of power intoxication. The list

goes on.

To prevent abuse in the business world (like in

political systems), institutional measures need to be

put into place. Traditional countervailing factors to

business’s top-heavy designs include the press,

trade unions and citizen advocacy organisations.

Furthermore, 360-degree leadership feedback and

culture audits (assessing the gaps between what is

wished for by the employees and what’s practised)

can pinpoint potential trouble areas. In certain

countries, workers’ councils represent another

countervailing power. Of course, most helpful would

be the existence of an organisational culture where

people would have a healthy disrespect for their

bosses. When people can speak their mind, it helps

keep the people in power tied to reality.

Power is perhaps best handled by those who don’t

really want it. Even so, such people need to watch

out for power’s addictiveness if they are to keep

their sanity. To quote Lao Tzu, “Mastering others is

strength. Mastering yourself is true power.”

Manfred Kets de Vries is the Distinguished Clinical

Professor of Leadership Development &

Organisational Change at INSEAD and the Raoul de

Vitry d'Avaucourt Chaired Professor of Leadership

Development, Emeritus. He is the Founder of

INSEAD's Global Leadership Centre and the

Programme Director of The Challenge of

Leadership, one of INSEAD’s top Executive Education

Programmes.

Professor Kets de Vries is also the Scientific Director of

the Executive Master in Coaching and Consulting for

Change (EMCCC). His most recent books are: You

Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger: Executive

Coaching Challenges; Telling Fairy Tales in the

Boardroom: How to Make Sure Your

Organisation Lives Happily Ever After;

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and Riding the Leadership Rollercoaster: An

Observer’s Guide.

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