Dacher Keltner: How Leaders And Their Rise To Power

Studies done by Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University or California, show that the very traits that helped leaders accumulate control in the first place all but disappear once they rise to power. Leaders, when wanting to obtain power, put on a mask or a second face which will make them more appealing to people and audiences, although in reality their intentions and plans might be very different. They often times promise change and offer a bright future but when power is obtained, they, generally speaking, always make the choices that will benefit them before anything. The fact that all the good qualities that leaders project in the beginning of their careers disappear, make it very hard for people to know who to trust and who not to trust.
People often times wonder how the wrong leaders grab a hold of so much power, and why didn’t anybody try to stop them before it was too late, but they fail to realize that they were the ones responsible for helping the leader get there. According to the surveys done by Keltner, “they (candidates to positions holding power) who were the most “powerful” and respected--were also the most considerate and outgoing, and scored highest on measures of agreeableness and

“When you give people power, they basically start acting like fools. They flirt inappropriately, tease in a hostile fashion, and become totally impulsive” (Keltner). Another way to put this is, when people grab hold of power, they forget all their values and moral standards that helped them get to where they are. As Jeffrey Pfeffer once said “One step to maintaining power is to get over the idea that everyone needs to like you”, and as helpful as that tip might to someone with power, would it be the right thing to do, to forget about everyone else’s feelings and ignore their emotions just because you are now