Below is the results of yet another assessment related to leadership and power and influence.
Overall political skill: 6.11; Social astuteness skill: 6; Interpersonal influence skill: 6; Managing social networks skill: 5.83; Genuineness or sincerity skill: 7
This is a bit of controversy, because to different cultures, and thoughts there is right and wrong that might not appear so. brief example of non-ethical wrong, in Judaism and Islam eating pork is considered wrong, yet many others do not see this as wrong.
So here lies the controversy, the identification of right and wrong. There should be a standard of common sense right and wrong, applied to the ethics of the leader. There is also a huge play in personality traits and roles that can have effects on the leader. Still how can we identify the so called “standards”, so rather than looking at right and wrong since I am not an ethical expert of how definition of right and wrong is for individuals we should look at it from a different light.
I would say, if there is a way to identify ones oneself of the toxic triangle, they can remove the negative traits that affect the leader to have power and influence that appear dark. Yet trait alone is not sufficient. I believe Ego needs to be removed or checked in this equation. Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter discuss in their writing Ego Is the Enemy of Good Leadership “the bigger the ego grows, the more they are at risk of ending up in an insulated bubble, losing touch with their colleagues, the culture, and ultimately their clients.” We can replace Clients and colleagues with followers. So leaders who have a grown ego will lose touch with their followers and the culture. An unchecked ego can cause us to lose our values. In the words of Jennifer Woo, CEO and chair of The Lane Crawford Joyce Group, Asia’s largest luxury retailer, “Managing our ego’s craving for fortune, fame, and influence is the prime responsibility of any leader.”
So, I believe that Ego plays an important role in the dark side of power and influence. If we can keep it in check we can potentially remove some of the negativity that is associated with power and influence such as greed, fame, and selfish agenda. By this the negative image of power and influence can be changed, and the dark side of power can be avoided to more of the selfless leaders to be.
Reference:
- Ego Is the Enemy of Good Leadership – https://hbr.org/2018/11/ego-is-the-enemy-of-good-leadership
Adventures in Life 