Don’t Let Power Go to Your Head as a New Leader

Getting promoted changes more than your title.  Because of this, don’t let power go to your head as a new leader.

A promotion gives you more authority. It can also make you a worse leader.

We know from People Manager Assessment Center data and new manager training participants that gaining authority without sufficient preparation can undermine a leader’s ability to effectively:

• Lead
• Manage
• Coach

— others to perform at their peak.  The danger is especially high for new leaders who feel pressure to prove they are qualified to lead by demonstrating that they are firmly in charge.

The result? New leaders can unintentionally create distance, suppress dissent, damage trust, and — at the extreme — contribute to a toxic work culture.

But what if the familiar warning that “power corrupts” misses something important?

What if power also blinds?

Research suggests that gaining power can reduce our sensitivity to what other people are thinking and feeling. For anyone transitioning into a new leadership role, that creates a dangerous paradox: the more influence you gain, the easier it may become to miss the very signals you need to lead effectively.

Two Research-Backed Ways Power Can Create Leadership Blind Spots
Research highlighted by our microlearning experts points to two important risks.

• You Can Become Worse at Reading People
  Research involving NYU, Northwestern, and Stanford found that participants primed to feel powerful were less accurate at interpreting other people’s emotions and perspectives.
  
  That matters because leadership depends on noticing what is often left unsaid. When leaders become less attuned to hesitation, frustration, disagreement, or uncertainty, they risk making decisions without critical information.
• Your Empathy Can Decline
  Research involving Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Toronto examined how power affects neural processes associated with understanding other people’s actions. The findings point toward what researchers have described as reduced interpersonal sensitivity among people experiencing greater power.
  
  The leadership implication is significant: power can create distance precisely when leaders need greater connection.

15 Warning Signs Power Is Going to Your Head as a New Leader

None of us is immune to leadership blind spots. Your new authority may be working against you if you:

• Sabotage or diminish other people’s success.
• Back-channel to get your way.
• Create unnecessary distance between yourself and your team.
• Make disagreement or bad news unsafe.
• Believe your title automatically deserves respect.
• Default to “my way or the highway.”
• Take credit for other people’s work.
• Say “I” and “me” far more than “we” and “us.”
• Care more about appearances than team performance.
• Micromanage your team.
• Compete with your employees for recognition.
• Tell people what to do instead of involving them in decisions.
• Lead everyone identically instead of adapting your leadership style.
• Listen to words without noticing tone, body language, and emotion.
• Lack trusted relationships with people willing to tell you when you are wrong.

3 Ways to Keep Power Go to Your Head as a New Leader and Blinding You
Based on lessons from our action learning leadership development programs, three disciplines can help.

1. Show Authentic Vulnerability
   New leaders often feel pressure to immediately prove themselves. Resist it.
   
   If you want to build trust with your team, acknowledge what you do not know. Admit mistakes. Identify your blind spots. Ask for help.
   
   The strongest leaders do not need to prove they have all the answers. They create an environment where the best answers can surface.
2. Create “Level-With-Me” Conversations
   Identify trusted colleagues who will tell you what others may be reluctant to say. Routinely ask:
   
   “What am I missing?”
   “Where might I be getting in my own way?”
   “What are people reluctant to tell me?”
   
   Then listen without defending yourself. Asking for candor and punishing it is worse than never asking at all.
3. Listen for What People Are Not Saying
   Power changes conversations. Employees frequently become more cautious around people who control assignments, opportunities, compensation, and careers.
   
   Effective leaders therefore listen beyond words. They watch for hesitation, shifts in tone, body language, guarded agreement, and conspicuous silence.
   
   When everyone suddenly agrees with you, do not automatically assume you have become smarter.

The Bottom Line
Power does not automatically make you a bad leader — but it can make it harder to see when you are becoming one. If you are eager to prove you deserve your new authority, resist the temptation to lead through control, certainty, or status. Push ego aside, invite dissent, stay curious, and deliberately maintain strong human connections with your people. The real test of leadership power is not how many people follow your direction — it is whether your leadership makes it easier for them to perform at their peak.

If your title gives you authority but not trust, your leadership will only go so far. Discover how to earn the credibility, candor, and commitment your team needs — download Trust Isn’t Granted by Your Title — 29 Ways Leaders Earn It

by Tristam Brown: CEO

Tristam Brown is an executive business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.