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The Uncomfortable Truth About Power's Pursuit
In a world that often romanticizes humble leadership and authentic connection, Jeffrey Pfeffer's "Power" delivers an uncomfortable truth: nice guys frequently finish last. This provocative bestseller has become required reading at elite business schools worldwide, with Fortune 500 executives citing it as their secret playbook for career advancement. Pfeffer, the Thomas D. Dee II Professor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, challenges conventional wisdom about how power actually works. The book has sparked controversy for its unflinching examination of the sometimes ruthless tactics used by successful leaders. Even Oprah Winfrey, known for promoting positive thinking, acknowledged its importance, noting "understanding power dynamics changed everything in my career." Unlike feel-good leadership guides, Pfeffer's research-backed approach has earned praise from figures like former GE CEO Jack Welch, who admitted, "I wish I'd read this thirty years ago-it would have saved me a decade of mistakes."
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Performance Alone Won't Save You
The harsh reality is that good performance alone doesn't guarantee career success, and poor performance doesn't necessarily lead to failure. Numerous examples across sectors illustrate this principle: award-winning school superintendent Rudy Crew was forced out months after being named National Superintendent of the Year; Ken Kizer transformed the Veterans Health Administration into "the best medical care in the U.S." yet lost his position due to political opposition; and business leaders like Jamie Dimon, Home Depot founders, and Steve Jobs all faced career setbacks despite demonstrated success.
Research consistently shows that job performance has surprisingly little impact on career advancement. Studies reveal that performance evaluations are heavily influenced by supervisors' prior opinions-those who supported hiring someone rate them more positively than those they inherited or opposed hiring, regardless of actual performance. Research on promotions shows that factors like age, tenure, educational credentials, and relationships often matter more than actual job accomplishments.
What truly matters is ensuring higher-ups know what you're achieving. Standing out contradicts conventional wisdom about "the nail that sticks up gets hammered down," but this advice is terrible for career advancement. To attain power, those in power must choose you, which won't happen if you blend into the woodwork. The "mere exposure effect" shows people prefer what's familiar-they like what they remember. Your performance must be visible, and familiarity produces preference.
No one performs equally well on all dimensions of their work. The key is to consistently emphasize aspects where you excel. Take Tina Brown, who increased circulation dramatically at Vanity Fair and The New Yorker while winning numerous awards, but never earned a profit. Her performance evaluation depended entirely on which criteria mattered most.
The surest way to maintain your position and build power is helping those above you feel better about themselves. Even when flattery seems transparent, recipients typically prefer to believe compliments are sincere, as this leaves them feeling good about both themselves and the flatterer. Jennifer Chatman's research found no point at which flattery becomes ineffective-it consistently works because people want to believe positive assessments about themselves.
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Personal Qualities That Build Influence
Anyone can develop the qualities needed to acquire and maintain power, as demonstrated by figures like Ron Meyer, who transformed from high school dropout to powerful Hollywood executive. To build influence, you must overcome three obstacles: believing personal change is possible, objectively assessing your strengths and weaknesses, and understanding which qualities matter most for building power.
Based on research and observation of hundreds of leaders, two fundamental dimensions distinguish people who rise to great heights: will (the drive to take on challenges) and skill (the capabilities to turn ambition into accomplishment). Will comprises three qualities: ambition, energy, and focus. Skill includes four attributes: self-knowledge, confidence, ability to read others, and capacity to tolerate conflict.
Boundless energy is a hallmark of powerful people. Laura Esserman, who transformed medical practices at UCSF, got her MBA while practicing medicine full-time and having her first child, remarking, "You don't change the world by first taking a nap." Energy builds influence in three ways: it's contagious and inspires effort from others; it enables longer working hours that provide advantages in accomplishment; and it signals organizational commitment that leads to promotion opportunities.
Focus amplifies power like a magnifying glass concentrates sunlight. Three dimensions of focus build influence: specialization in one industry or company; concentration on limited functional skills to achieve mastery faster; and prioritizing the 5-10% of job duties with greatest impact. Despite its advantages, focus is rare because talented people often have diverse interests and fear committing to one path.
Structured self-reflection accelerates power acquisition. Joe Beneducci, who became a tech-savvy CEO by 39, recorded insights after every significant interaction in a small notebook, analyzing what worked and what didn't. Similarly, Dr. Mitch Maidique, former president of Florida International University, credited his effectiveness to making notes about decisions and interactions for continuous improvement.
Confidence signals power and competence to others. Dr. Frances Conley, first female full professor of neurosurgery, demonstrated this by projecting certainty with patients despite expressing uncertainty with colleagues. People naturally look to behavior for cues about status, and confident demeanor suggests actual power.
While intelligence is the strongest predictor of job performance, it's often overrated as a path to power. Research shows intelligence accounts for only about 20% of work performance variation, and the link between performance and power acquisition is equally weak. Excessive intelligence can actually hinder power acquisition: brilliant people often work alone, develop overconfidence, become insensitive to others' needs, or intimidate colleagues.
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Strategic Career Positioning
Where you begin your career significantly impacts both your advancement speed and ultimate destination. Studies show employees starting in powerful departments move up salary scales faster and tend to remain in high-power units throughout their careers. Different organizations have different power pathways-AT&T's route to CEO was through Illinois Bell, PG&E's through the legal department, GM's through finance, and University of Illinois filled senior positions from the physics department.
Departmental power stems from several sources. Unit cohesion, as demonstrated by Ford's finance function under the Whiz Kids, creates coordinated action and shared trust through socialization rituals. Another crucial source is providing critical resources or solving pressing organizational problems. As competitive challenges shift, so does the locus of power-explaining why CEO backgrounds evolved from production (early 1900s) to marketing (1920s-30s) to finance (1960s onward), reflecting changing business priorities.
Accurately perceiving power distribution provides strategic advantage. Multiple indicators offer more reliable assessment than any single measure. Several reliable indicators help diagnose departmental power: relative pay (compensation differences signal departmental power); physical location and facilities (proximity to leadership both signals and creates power through access); and positions on committees and in senior management (board representation reveals departmental power).
While joining powerful departments provides career advantages, these units attract fierce competition from other talented people. Early entrants into emerging power centers benefit from pioneering status and executive visibility, but these advantages diminish as the unit becomes established. This creates a dilemma: join an established powerful department with strong career prospects but intense competition, or pioneer a new path with higher risk but potentially greater individual visibility.
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Breaking Rules and Standing Out
Success often requires audacity in pursuing opportunities. Keith Ferrazzi, upon graduating from Harvard Business School, secured guaranteed annual dinners with Deloitte's head as a condition for accepting their offer. Similarly, Reginald Lewis-who later became a billionaire businessman-gained admission to Harvard Law School despite program rules explicitly prohibiting it and without even completing an application.
Boldly asking for what you want frequently succeeds. People consistently underestimate others' willingness to help because they focus on the costs of compliance rather than the social awkwardness of refusing. Research by Frank Flynn and Vanessa Lake demonstrates this bias: participants consistently overestimated how many strangers they would need to approach to get help with simple tasks like completing questionnaires or borrowing phones.
People are flattered when asked for advice or help-it's self-affirming and ego-enhancing. Barack Obama built relationships in the Senate by asking a third of senators for advice, forming mentoring relationships with figures like Ted Kennedy. Research shows people are twice as likely to help those with whom they share even minimal connections like birthdays or first names.
In competitive organizational environments, standing out is essential for career advancement. You must overcome reluctance to self-promote and build your personal brand to get noticed. Caroline Kennedy's failed bid for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat illustrates this-she was unprepared for self-promotion, with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell noting you must learn to defy "modesty impulses" and confidently assert your value.
Though research shows people help those they like, there are important caveats. Most studies examine situations with equal power dynamics and discretionary compliance. As Machiavelli advised, if forced to choose between being loved or feared, choose fear for maintaining power. Social psychology research confirms two universal dimensions for assessing others: warmth and competence. The dilemma: appearing competent often requires seeming tough. Harvard research found negative reviewers were perceived as more intelligent and expert than positive ones, even when the reviews were of equal quality.
People naturally gravitate toward those with power, wanting to associate with successful individuals and institutions. Robert Cialdini's research at Arizona State University demonstrated this "basking in reflected glory" effect: students were more likely to wear school insignia after football victories than defeats, and more frequently used the pronoun "we" when referring to successful groups.
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Creating Resources from Nothing
Resources-money, jobs, information-are fundamental sources of organizational power. Those who control resources gain influence that becomes self-reinforcing. Willie Brown exemplified this by raising money and strategically helping colleagues win elections, while his predecessor Leo McCarthy lost power by hoarding resources. In corporations, resource control correlates directly with power, as seen in the strong relationship between firm size and CEO compensation (40% of pay variation) versus performance (less than 5%).
Building power doesn't require starting from a position of strength like Google's founders. Anyone can begin accumulating leverage and resource control incrementally from their current position. A resource is anything people want or need-money, jobs, information, social support, or help. Providing these things engages the norm of reciprocity, where favors must be repaid. Importantly, people don't precisely calculate the value received, so even small favors can generate disproportionately large obligations in return.
Building relationships requires nothing more than being polite and listening. Willie Brown rose to power in the California Assembly with support from conservative Republican legislators because he treated them fairly, gave them a chance to speak, and listened to their points. Small gestures matter-attending important events, having lunch with people whose help you want, and being a good listener.
People appreciate help with mundane tasks they find boring-precisely the kinds of tasks great for building a power base. Frank Stanton rose from a research department of two people to CBS vice president by making himself indispensable, gathering information on any topic of interest to senior management. Michael, a business school student who had already accepted a job at a hedge fund, took charge of recruiting junior analysts-a task others viewed as a necessary evil-which put him at the hub of communications with senior partners and built his reputation before joining full-time.
If you're in a place with status, use that status to your advantage. Jim, while attending Stanford's Sloan program, connected his boss with an accounting professor who needed a guest speaker, creating a win-win that earned Jim an exceptional performance rating despite being away from work. Klaus Schwab created the World Economic Forum from a modest beginning, building a $100 million organization by recognizing that global leaders needed a forum to exchange ideas and do business in one place.
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Building Effective Social Networks
Heidi Roizen built a successful career in technology despite having degrees in creative writing and business rather than computer science or engineering. Her success came from combining intelligence and business competence with strategic social relationships. Starting as a newsletter editor at Tandem Computer gave her the opportunity to interact with people throughout the company, including senior leaders who came to appreciate her talents.
Networking involves behaviors aimed at building, maintaining, and using informal relationships that facilitate work activities by gaining access to resources and maximizing advantages. Key networking behaviors include: building internal contacts through company events, maintaining relationships with colleagues across departments, using internal contacts for confidential advice, building external contacts through professional functions, maintaining external relationships, and exchanging professional information with acquaintances from other organizations.
Many positions fundamentally involve connecting different parties who wouldn't otherwise interact. Venture capitalists bridge investors and entrepreneurs while helping startups find talent and partners. Industry association leaders like Jack Valenti and Billy Tauzin leverage political connections to benefit their sectors. Even within companies, project managers must bring together disparate groups to complete tasks, making networking essential to leadership roles that require coordinating different competencies and perspectives.
Networking correlates with better performance evaluations, higher salaries, and greater career satisfaction. Longitudinal studies in Germany showed that networking behaviors, particularly "maintaining external contacts" and "building internal contacts," positively affected salary growth and career satisfaction. Another study of MBA graduates found networking was the second most important competency for career advancement.
Despite individual differences in social skills, people can learn to diagnose network structures and develop social capital. At Raytheon, executives who attended a Business Leadership Program with strong networking components scored 35% higher on performance evaluations, were 43% more likely to be promoted, and 42% less likely to leave the organization compared to a control group, demonstrating that networking skills can be improved through training.
Not everyone is equally useful in your network, so allocate your networking time strategically. Mark Granovetter's classic Boston study revealed two key insights: social ties are crucial in job-finding (especially for managerial positions), and surprisingly, weak ties matter more than strong ones. Weak ties-casual acquaintances rather than close friends-provide non-redundant information and new contacts.
Your power comes not just from network size but from your position within it. Centrality-being the hub through which information and communication flows-creates influence through information control and perceived importance. You can assess your centrality by measuring how many people come to you for advice or what proportion of communication links flow through you.
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The Art of Acting and Speaking with Power
In the transition from networking to acting with power, your ability to leverage social ties depends on others' perceptions of you. These perceptions hinge on your capacity to speak and act powerfully. The contrast between Oliver North and Donald Kennedy illustrates this perfectly. Despite North's involvement in the Iran-contra scandal, his powerful self-presentation-wearing his decorated uniform, taking responsibility without shame, and speaking assertively-helped him emerge with his reputation largely intact. Kennedy, by contrast, appeared with a team of assistants, spoke hesitantly with convoluted sentences, and expressed embarrassment, ultimately losing his position as Stanford president.
Authority is 20 percent given, 80 percent taken. To acquire power, you must project confidence even when uncertain. As Andy Grove of Intel noted, "Part of it is self-discipline and part of it is deception... after a while, if you act confident, you become more confident." This works through three principles: first, attitudes follow behavior-your act becomes reality; second, emotions are contagious-your confidence influences others; third, emotions become self-reinforcing as others reflect your confidence back to you.
Leaders must recognize they're constantly on stage. Harrah's CEO Gary Loveman understands that many employees see him only once yearly, so he must always project energy and engagement regardless of how he feels. Professor Morten Hansen learned this lesson when students interpreted his travel fatigue as disinterest in their presentations.
Research shows people who express anger are perceived as "dominant, strong, competent, and smart" though less warm. Studies by Larissa Tiedens demonstrate that people confer more status on angry individuals than sad ones. In experiments with Clinton's testimony during the Lewinsky scandal, viewers rated his angry demeanor as more powerful than when he appeared remorseful. Similarly, job candidates expressing anger received higher status positions and salaries, being perceived as more competent.
Though taller, more attractive people typically earn more and occupy higher positions, you can enhance your power presence without physical alterations. Dress to convey status and get professional styling help. More importantly, "move with power"-stand straight rather than slouching, thrust your chest and pelvis forward instead of curling inward defensively. Moving toward someone connotes power, while retreating signals weakness.
In conversation, those with power interrupt while those with less power get interrupted. Though impolite, interrupting signals dominance-men interrupt more frequently than women, and doctors rarely listen to patients without interrupting. Oliver North demonstrated this power move during hearings by refusing interruption, holding up his finger saying "Let me finish" and talking over questioners.
Persuasive language creates vivid images and emotions that override reason. Churchill's wartime speeches exemplify this power-specific, evocative, and filled with strong imagery. Five linguistic techniques enhance persuasion: (1) Using us-versus-them references to strengthen group solidarity; (2) Pausing strategically for emphasis; (3) Presenting information in lists of three for completeness; (4) Using contrastive pairs to frame favorable comparisons; and (5) Speaking without notes to demonstrate mastery and maintain eye contact.
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Building a Reputation That Creates Reality
Reputation dramatically affects career trajectory, as illustrated by two iconic football coaches: John Madden (76% winning record) who quit before being fired, and Bill Walsh (61% winning record) nicknamed "The Genius" who was never forced from a position. Accomplishment matters, but reputation can be even more powerful.
In business, studies show people who create favorable impressions receive higher performance ratings than better performers who manage impressions poorly. For executives, a stellar reputation changes the negotiating dynamic-instead of competing for jobs, companies fight to hire you, even paying "outrageous sums" for perceived "corporate saviors," regardless of whether these outside hires typically succeed.
First impressions form remarkably quickly-within milliseconds of initial contact-based on facial expressions, posture, voice, and appearance. More surprisingly, these rapid judgments prove remarkably accurate in predicting longer-term evaluations. Research by psychologists Ambady and Rosenthal found that impressions formed in less than 30 seconds predict outcomes as accurately as those formed over several minutes.
You must strategically engineer your reputation from the beginning. Barack Obama meticulously constructed his political identity by carefully selecting which churches to attend and which law firm to join, even launching his book simultaneously with his first political campaign. John Browne, despite being an introverted intellectual under 5'6" in an industry known for bold, brash leaders, rose to become BP's CEO for over a decade by cultivating three key reputation dimensions: extraordinary work ethic, intellectual prowess, and strategic intimidation.
Media presence can transform your reputation and accelerate your power trajectory. Consider Marcelo, who at just 23 became controller of a major Brazilian real estate company. Recognizing his youth and inexperience, he developed a three-pronged strategy: deliver results through hard work, build networks, and most importantly, cultivate media relationships. Marcelo wrote articles on finance and management, offering a fresh generational perspective that publications valued. He volunteered for media interviews when colleagues avoided them, eventually handling press relations across departments.
Self-promotion presents a classic dilemma: fail to advocate for yourself and people assume incompetence; promote yourself too aggressively and you're seen as arrogant and unlikable. The solution? Get others to tout your abilities. Experiments show that identical statements about a person's competence are perceived more favorably when delivered by an intermediary rather than the person themselves.
Counterintuitively, displaying some negative characteristics can actually enhance your power. Consider Larry Summers, who despite being described as "prickly," "outspoken," and having "a little turbulence" with everyone, has held prestigious positions from Treasury Secretary to Harvard President to White House economic advisor. This works through a process of reputational inoculation-when people select you despite knowing your flaws, they become more committed to justifying their decision.
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The Inevitable Cost of Power
Nothing comes without cost, and power is no exception. As you chart your course and make decisions about pursuing power, consider carefully what you're striving for and if you really want it. People who seek and attain power often pay prices for the quest, for maintaining their positions, and for the inevitable transitions out of powerful roles.
When you hold power, every aspect of your life faces scrutiny. Nobel Prize winners often find the fame makes it impossible to continue their research-"the receipt of the Nobel Prize marks the end of one's productive career." The Wallace Company, after winning the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, was so overwhelmed by visits, press requests and conferences that they filed for bankruptcy.
As scholar James March observed, "you could have power or autonomy, but not both." When people assume leadership positions, they lose control over their schedules. A former colleague who became a business school dean found his time was no longer his own-his "office" scheduled every minute, and unless he proactively blocked time for himself, there would be none.
Building and maintaining power demands time that cannot be spent on personal relationships, hobbies or family. This toll is particularly severe for women. Frances Conley, one of the first female neurosurgeons, had a supportive husband who left corporate life to manage their investments and household, but she ultimately chose not to have children because of her career demands.
The higher you rise, the more people want your job, creating a fundamental problem: who can you trust? Some colleagues secretly work toward your downfall, others curry favor by telling you what you want to hear, and some do both. Gary Loveman, former Harvard professor and Harrah's CEO, noted that the higher you rise, the more people tell you you're right, leading to an absence of critical thought.
Nick Binkley experienced profound withdrawal symptoms when leaving his powerful position. The transition from a "caffeinated high" of constant activity to normal life felt "like a car going from ninety miles an hour to a dead stop," causing both physiological and psychological reactions. Beyond losing the adrenaline rush, he faced the jarring shift from being constantly surrounded by "players" and people fawning over him to relative obscurity, as many associates disappeared once his status changed.
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Why Power Is Worth the Price
Despite the costs, power remains worth pursuing for most people. Power isn't just about status-it directly affects your health and wealth. Research by Michael Marmot found that lower-ranked employees had higher mortality risks from heart disease, with only a quarter of this variation explained by lifestyle factors. What truly mattered was power, status, and job control. Feeling helpless and lacking control produces stress that harms health, while having power prolongs life.
Additionally, power creates opportunities for wealth generation, as demonstrated by Bill and Hillary Clinton, who earned $109 million after leaving the White House through speaking fees, books, and investment opportunities made available by their past positions. Power is also part of leadership and necessary to get things done, whether transforming healthcare systems or making workplaces more humane.
Many people deceive themselves by believing the world is fair and that everyone gets what they deserve. This belief creates two major obstacles to acquiring power: it prevents learning from all situations and people (especially those you dislike), and it makes people passive rather than proactive in building their power base.
Building power doesn't require extraordinary actions or brilliance. As Woody Allen noted, "Eighty percent of success is showing up." The problem with heroic leadership narratives is they make people doubt their own capabilities. Yet anyone in any role can benefit from these power concepts, as demonstrated by the young woman who successfully took over a student committee and discovered she enjoyed wielding influence.
Many people voluntarily surrender their power through their behavior and mindset. Research by Anderson and Berdahl shows that people who feel powerless exhibit "inhibitive nonverbal behaviors"-shrinking posture, physical withdrawal, and less forceful gestures-creating a negative cycle where others attribute less power to them. How you feel about yourself profoundly affects how you project power and how others respond.
The organizational world rarely delivers justice automatically-you must advocate for yourself. When Bob, a CEO of a venture-backed company, failed to defend himself against his ambitious CFO Chris's power plays, the outcome was predictable. Despite the board acknowledging Chris's inappropriate behavior, they removed Bob and installed Chris as CEO.
Power and political processes are ubiquitous in organizations-not just in certain industries or sectors, but everywhere. This reality stems from fundamental human psychology and isn't likely to disappear. Rather than complaining about unfairness, unhealthy cultures, or difficult bosses, you must take responsibility for your situation. The stakes couldn't be higher. Michael Marmot's study of 18,000 British civil servants revealed that those at the bottom of the hierarchy had four times the risk of death from heart disease compared to those at the top-even after controlling for risk factors like smoking, obesity, or family history. As Pfeffer concludes with stark clarity: "Seek power as if your life depends on it. Because it does."
