Do good people make bad bosses?

Do good people make bad bosses?

Wall Street Journal, |2010/ 08/14

Research suggests that nice guys rise to the top, but once there they become disagreeable and authoritarian. Psychologists refer to this as the paradox of power. Instead of being polite, honest and outgoing, the traits which helped them to rise, they become impulsive, reckless and rude. One recent study found that overconfident CEOs were more likely to pursue innovation and take their companies in new technological directions. Unchecked, however, these instincts can lead to a big fall.

A few years ago, Dacher Keltner, a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, interviewed freshmen at a large dorm on the Berkeley campus and the survey results showed that the students at the top of the social hierarchy—they were the most "powerful" and respected—were also the most considerate and outgoing, and scored highest on measures of agreeableness and extroversion.

"People give authority to people that they genuinely like," says Mr. Keltner.

This contradicts Machiavelli that compassion got in the way of eminence.

Of course, these scientific findings contradict the cliché of power, which is that the only way to rise to the top is to engage in self-serving and morally dubious behavior. In "The Prince," a treatise on the art of politics, the 16th century Italian philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli insisted that compassion got in the way of eminence. If a leader has to choose between being feared or being loved, Machiavelli insisted that the leader should always go with fear.

Another study conducted by Mr. Keltner and Cameron Anderson, a professor at the Haas School of Business, measured "Machiavellian" tendencies, such as the willingness to spread malicious gossip, in a group of sorority sisters. But the Machiavellian sorority members were quickly identified by the group and isolated. Since they weren’t liked, they never became powerful.

This research is reassuring.

But the bad news is that once these nice guys reach the top they morph into a very different kind of beast.

According to psychologists, one of the main problems with authority is that it makes us less sympathetic to the concerns and emotions of others.Several studies have found that people in positions of authority are more likely to rely on stereotypes and generalizations when judging other people. They also spend much less time making eye contact, at least when a person without power is talking.

However, not all leaders become ruthless and immoral. It’s important to keep a balance between being tough and being compassionate and stay in command.

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