The ultimate demonstration of power is to give power away.

 

 

It is with humility and an awareness of the “unpopularity” of this topic that I begin today’s essay.  Here in 2025, in a world torn apart by war, mis-trust and strife… and in a nation deeply and often violently divided on ideological/partisan lines, it’s hard to imagine that I would suggest a leadership concept that DID NOT build on the concept of the dominating strength of an individual leader.  I am explicitly suggesting that by looking at history and seeking models in today’s landscape we can learn the truth to the idea that the “ultimate demonstration of power is to give power away.”

As is often my bent, I take a page from history and look to the end of the American Revolutionary war in 1783.  Having defeated the British army at Yorktown and signed a peace treaty officially ending hostilities, thus forming the United States of America as a new world nation, it was unclear how power, specifically the executive power of this new country would be established.  The following is a quote from the Maryland state archives,

“At the end of the Revolutionary War, many people in America and Europe thought Washington would retain the reins of power to become the leader of the new nation, or even king. When told by the American artist Benjamin West that Washington was going to resign, King George III of England said "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world."”

This comment from King George III of England from that time is at the center of my premise… that by walking away from power, by giving it “back” to the infant federal government Washington would be the “greatest man in the world”… simply by taking the action of “giving power away.”  While an incredible historic moment in 1783, it was one repeated later that century when Washington “stepped down” as President after his second term, leading to our first “presidential election” which was a hotly contested one (ultimately won by John Adams) in 1796.  Though being asked, encouraged and at times “coerced” into a third term, Washington once again had the strength and conviction to “give power away” and not serve a third term as President, thus retiring to Mt. Vernon where he passed away soon after in 1799.  The picture above, hangs in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capital shows General George Washington resigning his commission at the end of the war.  While a historic depiction of the actual event, it has tremendous symbolic meaning reinforcing the primacy of the civilian elected officials of congress over the power of the military, and the central foundation of that congress rooted in the U.S. constitution… a history lesson well worth remembering today in the light of the recent “No Kings” rallies across all 50 states!

As I mentioned in the first sentence above, this concept of “giving power away” as an act of power certainly seems foreign in our political landscape today; equally rarely see it practiced well in the universe of business.  Business leaders are expected to be decisive, have all the answers, be clear thinking in times of uncertainty and to somehow “divine” the future trends coming at a business regardless of industry country.  It is in this context that I often go back to the quote from Warren Buffet below.  

 

His comments about the idea that “True power is about sitting back and observing things with logic. True power is restraint.” rings so true to me and my personal leadership journey.  “True power” emanating from restraint is so hard to achieve, especially in times of uncertainty and crisis.  “Sitting back” and working to logically understand the situation at hand WITHOUT EMOTION is so key to leading an organization through challenging moments…so key to being truly powerful as a leader FOR the enterprise that is being led.

Take a few moments when you can to find ways to “give power away” and look for avenues of impact within your organization ( or colleagues outside of your team) where those actions of “restraint” can have a powerful productive impact.

postscript:  a quick note to say thank you to the readers of this blog.  Last week the blog hit 200k+ page views with 289 essays posted on line.  what started out as fulfilling a request for a friend to "post a story or two," the blog now has a life of its own and I am incredibly humbled and thankful for your readership!

 

“Resilience” ... a vital priority for leaders!

 

 

I had the real pleasure to recently attend a conference convened by a VC firm that I have been working with over the past year.  Across my 40-year career (I know… that’s quite a few conferences!!) I have attended or spoken at innumerable events… but few more challenging, thought provoking or compelling that this event held in Chicago last month.  The host organization identified four major global trends/dynamics that are facing companies, countries and communities broadly, and brought in world level experts in their fields to talk candidly about where the world stood on these topics and what issues were to be faced in the years ahead… nothing candy coated…with voices across the political spectrum to reduce partisan bias… and while each topic was exceedingly challenging, the confluence of the four literally took my breath away!  

Four Major Global trends

·      Climate Change: Assume global warming continues its upward trend

·      AI: the explosion of AI across industries/roles and the increased energy demand associated to its expansion

·      Geo-Political Realignment: the ascendency of China and the “re-alignment” of global alliances vs post WW II models

·      Decline of the U.S. Dollar as “sole/primary” global reserve currency and the impact of a widening U.S. deficit

I am not going to try to summarize each point, of to explore some of the side discussions that centered around areas where the four trends interacted/collided… instead I want to share how I “FELT” as I headed to the airport to fly home.  Intellectually energized, and professionally challenged are beyond understatements… but I kept thinking how we need to work on ( build, enhance, help, guide, teach,” you name the appropriate verb) our companies, our communities, our teams, our families to be stronger, more durable and ultimately more “resilient” to face the incredible challenges ( and opportunities) that lie ahead!  My core takeaway from the Chicago conference was our need to be “resilient-centered” leaders, teachers, and parents!

Dictionary

Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

re·sil·ience

/rəˈzilēəns/

noun

1. 1. 

the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

"the remarkable resilience of so many institutions"

2. 2. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity."nylon is excellent in wearability and resilience"

 

I began digging into the idea that it was naïve, and actually dangerous to try to “wish away” or ignore the challenges coming our way.  Our focus should be on how to “avoid” the problems ahead… but how to “recover” or “bounce back” from what will certainly be tough years (maybe decades) ahead.  This orientation around resilience in leaders is one that I haven’t thought about deeply before and certainly not one that I have tried to coach/teach or recruit for… but now is center to my focus.  Too many times, we have recruited/promoted young leaders because of their achievements and successes (seems logical) NOT because of the biggest challenges/problems/issues they have faced.  Our focus in on the “good-stuff,” not how big of an issue/challenge/problem have they “sprung back” from across their career.  This “resilience orientation” was top of mind for me coming out of the professional conference in Chicago, but it made me think about how to build a “resilient” leadership culture in a company or in a culture.

Its hard to visualize but imagine scrolling through “Linked In” on a random day, and rather than seeing post after post of exciting new roles/achievements/accomplishments/etc., one would see highlights of leaders/teams facing significant challenges, and recovering/bouncing back in great fashion… learning lessons on how to recover and be “resilient” in the face of challenge/dilemma.  A different landscape than today… a “resilience centered” landscape that we need to work towards regardless of industry, company or culture. 

You might wonder at this point of the essay what the picture above has to do with the theme of “resilience.” The picture is from a recent family vacation and has our kids Bryson and Marie (along with their “significant others” Meg and James) at the beach and in the surf with yours truly sitting under an umbrella on the sand. That morning the surf kept growing… the waves getting larger... and the “kids” handled the changing landscape brilliantly!   They first jumped over the coming waves, at times they “body surfed” them into shore, and at times they dove below the breaking waves to come out the other side…the waves were coming and getting larger…there was no stopping that… but how they handled them kept changing and expanding… their “resilience” kept growing as conditions changed.

Coming our of that conference, I am “chewing on” this idea of “resilience” and I know I will be processing it for some time…I am looking for ways to build my personal “leadership resilience” and I hope that you can find ways to build your “resilience” ( and the “resilience” of your teams) to face the challenges that most certainly lie ahead!