Aishwarya Hariharan Week 10: Is Gaining Power Worth It?
Is Gaining Power Worth It?
Research shows that several start off with good intentions to make this world a better place and to help those around them. When we embark on a journey filled with unknown rewards, we do each and every action out of love, respect, honor, and selflessness. Even those who don’t anticipate the power at the end of the road, don’t always use it to continue doing good. As Ketlner said, “People tell me all the time how they experience this in their own organizations….As one person described it, ‘all of a sudden my boss has forgotten my name, interrupts me and doesn’t listen. It’s total bullshit.’” Ketlner began referring to this as a “power paradox,” meaning when people start to get even the slightest taste of power, everything starts to slowly spiral out of control as the individual receives more power. As Ketlner gave that example of an individuals’ boss, his boss must have been just like him at some point and worked his way up to his position. Once he did though, he lost his ‘cool’ and began to become bossy, as if he runs the place and no one else has a say in anything. He quickly lost a sense of surrounding and other people’s feelings when he got promoted and became an arrogant person. That’s something this society sees a lot of and it most certainly needs to be stopped.
Along with that, there are also several individuals out there who genuinely care about the society around them and wouldn’t let anything alter their personalities and values. People such as Barack Obama and Michelle Obama used their power to help the United States as a whole and made some drastic changes to help society as a whole. They took up the job as President and First Lady and became role models all throughout the world by the end. Barack Obama, for example, initiated and passed the Climate Action Plan, which “proposed a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. It included preserving forests, encouraging the use of alternate fuels, and increased study of climate change.” Alongside Obama, Michelle Obama was and currently continues to be “an advocate for poverty awareness, education, nutrition, physical activity, and healthy eating.” The greatest thing about both of them is even when they stepped down from power, they continued to spread positivity and use what they still had to continue to help make the world become a better place and that’s something to applaud and appreciate them greatly for.
As we can see, at the end of the day, we have no correct way we decide who to give power to. There are several who genuinely care about using their power to help people around them, while there are others who gain power for selfish reasons. Power can’t bring endless happiness so I would say it’s really not worth the time in my eyes. That being said, we can only hope power falls into the right hands more often than the wrong.
Source Used : How We Gain Power And Influence: Science’s Surprising Answer
The toll power can take on someone is extremely frightening, but I am glad you also brought up examples of the positive scenarios that people who have power can hold. I remember reading Michelle Obama's autobiography and admiring her and her husband for refusing to use the white house's resources during Barack Obama's presidency. They would buy their own furniture and treat those that worked for them with such respect. I believe my POAS, Misty Copeland, is another person who has used power in an admirably way.
ReplyDeleteHey Aishwarya, it’s really frightening to realize how easy it is to lose sight of yourself and forget where you came from in the light of even the slightest power. Once people get a taste of power, a sense if superiority stsrts to sit in as a person forgets or doesnt care enough to empathize with others velow them. Power becomes something that they take for granted and leaders like this will often only gravitate towards people who can help them gain even mote power. I hope too that power starts falling into the right hands soon, into the hands of people who don’t define the value of themselves and others only in terms of power.
ReplyDeleteBarack Obama is my POAS person so it's nice that you mentioned how he passed the Climate Action Plan. Barack Obama first started out working for a grassroots organization that wanted to help the underprivileged communities in Chicago. Later he decided to go to law school because he thought he could not make a large change without a law degree. After getting his degree he worked as a lawyer then and helped other people’s campaigns, eventually guiding him to run for Senator. After winning as Senator he still wanted to help more people so he ran for President. Thus, I think it is good to seek power because it gives you more bandwidth to achieve your long-term goals.
ReplyDeleteHello Aishwarya,
ReplyDeleteI believe that everyone is affected by power differently based on their intentions. Having a strong influence over others and the ability to make a difference is the only way to change society, whether for the good or the bad. We educate ourselves so that we find something that we are passionate about and learn more about how to pursue it. With a vast amount of people on this earth and the increasing amount of wealth needed to implement change on a large scale, more power is needed to stay organized and on track. Whether or not that power corrupts someone's intentions depends on how passionate they were in achieving their initial purpose.
Hi Aishwarya! I really agree that people can change when they receive more power. The more power or money an individual gets, the less mindful they are for others as the power gets to their head. It can be quite frightening what power and overvaluation can do to someone. Though I do appreciate how you provided positive examples of Obama using their power to help others. It is comforting to see that not everyone with power in our society is corrupt.
ReplyDeleteHi Aishwarya! The concept of a power paradox is certainly interesting. It reminds me of what my dad says; which is to "lay low." Fame, power, and status can definitely change people. However, like you mentioned, we also see wonderful examples of people who have used their power and status for mostly good. It is never certain who will use their power for good prior to them having it, so I agree that we can only hope for the best.
ReplyDeleteHi Aishwarya! The "power paradox" is something I didn't know much about, so thanks for teaching me! I find it very interesting how people could suddenly lose consciousness of their surroundings and environment, and take on a "bossy" attitude because they can. But due to this happening essentially in a split second, we can never tell who would turn up like this and who wouldn't. I'm glad to hear that there was a President and First Lady during my lifetime that didn't fall to this paradox, and rather used their platform and position for societal good. I've heard down-to-earth things about both Obamas' upbringings, and I'm really grateful both of them didn't lose their morals at all in their eight year term. However, not everyone can or would be like the Obamas, so all we can do is hope that future leaders don't fall to the power paradox.
ReplyDeleteHi Aishwarya, I definitely think that if we put good people in positions of power, then society can benefit. It takes strong, ethical people to take the power and righteously guard it. Arrogance is something that clouds a person’s thinking and makes the person less compassionate towards others. It’s also a trait that makes a person narrow minded and unable to see someone else’s point of view. Strong minded people can hold their own beliefs in tact and still make space to listen to others’ points of view. I see the Obamas as educated people who know what they believe is right but can also not become corrupt with the power they hold, and I think that is what makes them truly powerful.
ReplyDeleteThere are photos of Barack Obama before and after his presidency and it is clear to see that it took a lot from him. Unlike others, he used the presidential power admirably and respectfully, and in the end gave way to the system that governs the US. His goal was to make America a better place to live in, and once he got power, that is what he strived to do. I'm sure he doesn't regret being the president.
ReplyDelete