Power and Impact (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)

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Four Ways Leaders Fritter Their Power Away

By Ron Carucci

“The last thing I want is to be perceived as a power-monger.” That was what one high-ranking executive recently told me, and the sentiment among top leaders is common. The executive who embezzles money, curries favor with bribes, or gets caught in sordid affairs makes headlines and is justly derided. But our 10-year longitudinal study revealed that the paralyzed executive is just as dangerous and likely more common.

We conducted more than 2,700 interviews with more than 100 newly transitioned executives, and while the data warned against the allure of using power for self-interest, we saw the greater challenge of power wasn’t exploiting it, but abdicating it.

In an effort to create egalitarianism, ...