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Overcoming the Power Taboo

January 23, 2019 by

People rarely talk about how much money they make, how often they have sex or how much power they have. Power is a cultural taboo. Business leaders often deny that they exercise power. They prefer to call it ‘influence’ or ‘authority’.

But exercising power can give very positive feelings. It releases hormones that make you happy. Why deny the happiness? Nothing is wrong with power in itself. It all depends how you use it.

It is important to reflect on your personal power. What is your power footprint? How do your decisions impact others and what do those people think about you? What is your moral compass? How is your behaviour when nobody is looking? What do you see when you look in the mirror?

(This blog has been written based on the introductions and dialogues during an ELP Leadership Dialogue about the art of power on 21 January 2019, with Oscar David and Saskia Stolz as speakers.)