Powerlessness Corrupts

With all due respect to Lord Acton, who wrote in 1887, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” we know also Powerlessness also can be “corrupting.”

Social scientists, clever observers of human behavior that they are, have noted for over 50 years how vital Autonomy is to we Homo Sapiens. While this may be influenced by culture and individual differences, we generally want to be the masters of our fates to the fullest extent possible. While the original researchers were simply watching and listening to people, more recently, scientists have had opportunities to peer into the human brain in real-time while their participants were asked to engage in activities either increasing or decreasing their Autonomy. This is such an important idea it is part of two frameworks developed by two different organizations, influenced by research in the neurosciences: David Rock of the Neuroleadership Institute, whose SCARF model includes an “A” for Autonomy, and the Harvard Negotiation Model, where one’s Autonomy is met “whenothers respect your freedom to decide important matters.”

Not having Autonomy makes us feel powerless. In fact, Powerless is often defined as “a lack of autonomy and participation,” and this is where the most significant problems arise for leaders and their organizations. Over 30 years ago, B.E. Ashforth, in a landmark study, noted the interrelationship between a lack of Autonomy or control and the feelings of powerlessness, linking this to poor outcomes: “The findings, then, suggest that powerlessness gives rise to unmet expectations/desires for control [resulting in] increased helplessness; and that helplessness increases work alienation.”

Since this research, dozens of studies have explored the interrelationship between employees who feel powerless and the personal and organizational consequences. We’ll explore those consequences later in this blog, but first, let us investigate how this may happen in a workplace.

Because we know everyone is looking at the leader, he/she has the potential to elevate work performance by providing Clarity and Autonomy. Leaders who fail to do this may be engaging in behaviors that diminish Autonomy and increase powerlessness by any of the following:

(1) Micromanaging

(2) Withholding of information

(3) Discussing the work performance of one employee with another employee

(4) “My way or the highway”

(5) Special treatment for some team members

(6) “Secret” meetings where information germane to an employee’s work is discussed

While certainly not an exhaustive list, it’s not difficult to imagine how any of these behaviors could decrease a team member’s feelings of not being in control of her job, career, or even her life.

The implications of employees feeling powerless are numerous and have far-ranging repercussions for these team members, their leader, and, ultimately, the organization. For example, we know that when individuals feel powerless, cortisol levels in their bodies increase. While this was a short-term evolutionary benefit, long term, it can have deleterious consequences for an individual’s brain and body health. Also, this tends to decrease the functioning of the executive brain, the prefrontal cortex, where planning and problem-solving are initiated.  A publication by Harvard suggests, “The powerless retaliate through subtle sabotage. They slow things down by failing to take action—a form of pocket veto, in which a bill is killed simply because time runs out. Negativity and low aspirations show up in behaviors psychologists call defensive pessimism, learned helplessness, and passive aggression.” In their research titled Just because you’re powerless doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you: Low power, paranoia, and aggression, M. Schaerer and fellow researchers discovered, “low power increases employees’ paranoia, which subsequently leads to aggression.” Other studies have uncovered relationships between feeling powerless and an increased likelihood of cheating and lying.

Do leaders plot insidiously to undermine their team members’ feelings of Autonomy? Most likely not. Leaders do these things unconsciously, without Self-Awareness, often never recognizing the consequences of their behaviors. Leaders have challenges of their own and many stakeholders to please. Consequently, they may take the shortest route, though not the most effective route to accomplishing a goal.

Effective ways to engender powerfulness in one’s team members begins with Self-Awareness (discussed in an earlier blog), where a leader asks him/herself if any of the behaviors described above could be attributed to him/her.

Below are behaviors a leader may wish to consider to help their employees feel autonomous and powerful:

• Provide Clarity regarding the job, the role, the goals, and the expectations while giving the team member the Autonomy to configure the work as he/she determines.
• Withhold critical feedback. The research indicates this is rarely (if ever) effective.
• Respect struggles.
• Celebrate wins (even small wins).
• Respect team members’ opinions.
• Practice curiosity without judgment.

In short, feeling powerless is feeling poorly about oneself and the organization. It appears to have no positive outcomes, and leaders can help a team member to exhibit superpowers, including discretionary effort beyond expectations.

Suzette Plaisance Bryan, PhD, SPHR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP
Director OBCC Leadership Center