There are many people I know who believe the world shouldn’t be this way, that ideas and issues are what matter. I’ve had people tell me that Pfeffer’s descriptions of how power works in his books Power and 7 Rules of Power are “gross”.
And I wish they were right, that these tactics wouldn’t be rewarded. But in our current society and culture, they do work with a large portion of the population. Perhaps someday we can get to a kinder and more equitable world, but for now: “Consistent displays of dominance matter more to Republicans than consistent displays of principle”.
This is particularly unfair to those who aren’t white men, as a woman or person with different colored skin displaying such dominance is then penalized for acting in an unseemly fashion in a clear signal of unconscious bias.
How do we move away from such a culture? I hope that it’s possible for more leaders to gain power who then want to distribute and share decision making with those affected by the decision. That’s not the case today where most people who pursue power want it for themselves and their own dominance. Is it possible to beat them at the games of power without becoming them? I’d like to think so, but there’s not much evidence supporting that idea.
#power #culture #leadership