Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
By Melanie Lockwood Herman
Resource Type: Risk eNews
Topic: HR Risk and Employment Practices, Organizational Culture
“Every time we experience power… we find ourselves at… a fork in the road… we can act in ways that lead us to enjoy enduring power… or we can be seduced by the self-indulgent possibilities that power occasions. Which path you take matters enormously.” – Dacher Keltner, The Power Paradox
This week I’m reading The Power Paradox by Dr. Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and the faculty director of the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center.
Dr. Keltner isn’t one to mince words: while reading The Power Paradox I found a number of tough truths about power especially troubling. According to Dr. Keltner:
The final truth on the list above—the link between abusing power and trust in the workplace—is highly relevant to risk management:
Revenge is one of the uglier sides of workplace power struggles. In her article “Here are the top 10 ways people exact revenge on their coworkers,” Jane Burnett cites research from insuranceQuotes indicating that staff who want to “get even” serve at all levels in organizations; half of the 1,000+ front-line, mid-level and senior staff surveyed fessed up to committing acts of revenge in the workplace.
Common vengeful acts include:
The two most common reasons for vengeance at work are “because someone tried to make me look bad,” followed by “someone was rude or disrespected me.”
Try these tips to right workplace power imbalances and reduce rationalizations for revenge:
Resources:
Melanie Lockwood Herman is Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. Melanie invites your thoughts about workplace power and risk at Melanie@nonprofitrisk.org or 703.777.3504.
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