Managing Corrupt Use of Power

The abuse of power affects us all, whether by a leader of a country, company, community, or family, and it only takes one rotten apple! Sadly there are plenty of examples of corruption in all sectors currently. Whereas we may criticise world leaders, we can do little to change things. What about closer to home, how do we manage ourselves and others as leaders?

How do you use your power?

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”
Lord Acton

Brian Klass, in his book Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How it Changes Us, explores the truth of Lord Acton’s quote. It is invaluable reading in these troubled times.

Power, like many strengths, can have two sides to its use, but without it our civilisation would not be possible. We can use power for the greater good or abuse it for our own selfish ends. Like fire, which we can harness to cook food or to burn people.

Do you believe power corrupts or are corrupt people drawn to power?

Defining Power

In differentiating between power and force, David R Hawkins defines power as the means of influencing the thoughts and actions of others. The source of power arises from meaning and appeals to the noble part of human nature. It makes no demands and has no needs. It energises, gives forth, supplies, and supports, and requires no justification.

Power will uplift, dignify and ennoble. It comes from a belief that all persons are created equal and human rights are intrinsic to human creation. It is associated with compassion and helping people feel good about themselves. This is what gave Mahatma Gandhi his power against the force of the British Empire or Nelson Mandela against apartheid.

On the other hand, force (abuse of power) is crass and partial. It is associated with judgement and leads people to feel bad about themselves. Force must always be justified. With any force, there is always counter force. Force is a movement that goes from here to there (or tries to) against opposition, so it creates conflict. It is incomplete and must be fed energy constantly.

Do you use power or force to succeed?

Drawn to Power

Margarita Mayo claims that the research is clear: when we choose humble, unassuming people as our leaders, the world around us becomes a better place. Then why are one in five CEO’s classified as psychopaths?

The problem is that corruptible people are drawn to power and are often better at getting it. Humans tend to select the wrong leaders for irrational reasons. Our stone-age brains have not evolved to pick the right leaders for the modern realities. A strong aggressive leader may have saved us from marauding tribes or wild animals, but these traits may not suit the need for a co-operative team. A leader must be right for the situation.

Confidence is not competence and charisma is a mirage. Unfortunately people with narcissistic and psychopathic tendencies are clever at getting promoted. Traits such as arrogance, narcissism, psychopathy, and charisma advance individuals’ careers. However, would we be better off if we sifted out individuals with such traits, as opposed to rewarding them?

Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It) by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic also explains why we select the wrong people. Contrary to common belief, robust methods for identifying leadership potential have been around for decades, and there are very simple criteria to test whether they work. But therein lies the problem: we love to trust our instincts, even when they’re wrong.

What criteria do you use when selecting leaders for your organisation?

Bad People or Bad Systems?

As we saw a few years ago, an inept Parliamentary system allowed MPs to abuse their expense claims. We have also seen how lack of accountability in the Metropolitan Police, some religious quarters and sports coaches has allowed long term abuse of trust and power.

Did the lack of accountability and values corrupt people or did corrupt people abuse the system? It is likely that both occurred. In a weak culture, the danger is we veer away from doing the ‘the right things’ in favour of doing ‘the thing that is right for me’

How robust are your systems in holding yourself and people accountable? How clear are the values you want to work by?

Opportunities to Corrupt

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
Abraham Lincoln

The longer some people are in positions of power, the more they want to hang on to the privileges that brings, and the better they get at ensuring they survive. We can see this with many dictators around the world.

The higher up the organisation you are the more power and influence you have. This is position power. There is also the power of knowledge, competency, relationship, and persona. How you use these will vary from one person to the next. If that power appears threatened then the risk is the leader will start using force.

Business growth can stretch leaders’ power to the limit, which will impact on performance and, more importantly, on wellbeing and decision-making capacity. Moral clarity may become clouded.

What corrupting opportunities are there for your leaders?

Scrutiny

With the modern mass and social medias, there has never been more scrutiny of leaders, which hopefully should help hold them to account! An error of judgement can be transmitted worldwide in seconds. This can give the perception that leaders are becoming more corrupt. Were previous leaders more honest or was their corruption not broadcast as much? Unfortunately, the media in the hands of corrupt leaders provides the opportunity to spread fake information and propaganda.

How are your leaders scrutinised and held to account? How accurate and honest is their communication?

Actions to Consider

If we want a better world, we need to start with ourselves.

Be the change you wish to see in the world
Gandhi

Be clear what traits you need in your leaders.
Recruit the right people for the role using well tested systems rather than instinct.
Set expectations and have clear values and behaviours which are communicated regularly.
Show integrity by role modelling the behaviours you want.
Ensure accountability, monitor performance and record it.
Have good systems in place to remove or reduce the opportunities for corruption.
Build a culture of trust and transparency.
Manage or remove corrupt leaders early before too much damage is done.

Medium.