“With great power comes great responsibility, so goes the famous saying. But responsibility is not all that seems to accompany puissance—dictators often exhibit extreme behavior, often in ways patently detrimental to their nations; managers are often accused of not understanding their subordinates’ points of view; and the dominant partner in a relationship often accused of being insensitive to the other’s needs. People in power, it seems, are prone to dismiss or, at the very least, misunderstand the viewpoints of those who lack authority. Article sourced from Kellog Insight“
With great power comes great responsibility, so goes the famous saying. But responsibility is not all that seems to accompany puissance—dictators often exhibit extreme behavior, often in ways patently detrimental to their nations; managers are often accused of not understanding their subordinates’ points of view; and the dominant partner in a relationship often accused of being insensitive to the other’s needs. People in power, it seems, are prone to dismiss or, at the very least, misunderstand the viewpoints of those who lack authority.
Research by Adam Galinsky (Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management) and his co-authors Joe Magee (Assistant Professor of Management at New York University), M. Ena Inesi (Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior at the London Business School), and Deborah H. Gruenfeld (Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior at Stanford University) explores the effect of power on perspective-taking and suggests that power reduces the ability to understand how others see, think, and feel. According to Galinsky, these findings may also give insights into how leadership can be harnessed to make global leaders more socially responsible.
