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!
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Love this post - need leaders giving away power for sure.
ReplyDeleteI like how you ask the powerful to view their power from the perspective of the powerless. Power is ruled by a paradox - power for the "powerful" only exists when the "powerless" decide to grant the "powerful" power. Those who have power over me have it because I decided to grant them power by valuing the resource they control. My spouse has power over me because I decided to value their love, friendship, shared responsibilities, co-parenting, etc. I have power over my students because they decided to value a grade, the information, and/or the perspectives of the class. Police may have power over me because I value my freedom from jail, but I note that the foundation of non-violent resistance is the act of devaluing your freedom from being arrested. The resistor is taking back their power. I think the key for all of us is to continually audit the reasons why someone has power over us. It is right for people to have power over us for the right reasons; it is dangerous if people have power over us for the wrong reasons. The blog post argues rightly that "sitting back" and not responding hastily or with undue emotion enhances our own power because it means we have not granted power to another for poor reasons. The paradox of power is that giving power away for the right reasons enhances or power; giving power away for the wrong reasons diminishes our power.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate this thoughtful comment and specifically the reference..." not responding hastily or with undue emotion enhances our own power because it means we have not granted power to another for poor reasons." so deeply true and deeply aligned to my personal experiences!
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