Have you ever wondered how feeling powerless can impact your behavior? It turns out that although we more often study those with high power—or those we think have high power, such as leaders—there’s a lot we do know about the effects of low power. In particular, a growing body of research suggests caution is warranted: powerlessness changes people’s behaviors in a variety of undesirable ways, such as telling self-promotional lies, competing covertly, justifying a flawed organizational system, and failing to leverage one’s BATNA in negotiations. However, relative power and status differences are ever-present, so it’s important that we learn how to manage and mitigate these downsides of low power. Listen to this episode for some fascinating and thought-provoking recent work on the realities we are likely to face in experiencing and being a part of situations that involve power differences between people, and how you can more effectively manage yourself in these situations.

Dr. Jessica Li bio:

Huisi (Jessica) Li is an Assistant Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Washington. Li’s research on the corruptive and undesirable effects of lacking power complements established findings on the corruptive nature of power itself. She also examines how power and status hierarchies impact team performance, especially within diverse and dynamic teams. Li employs diverse methodologies, including field surveys, experiments, archival data, and qualitative methods. Her work has been published in top journals, including Organization Science, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Research in Organizational Behavior. She has collaborated with organizations like the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Darden, etc. She serves on the editorial boards of Organization Science and Management and Organization Review and as a rep-at-large for the Conflict Management Division of the Academy of Management.

Articles referenced in the episode:

• Zhong, Y & Li, H. (2023) Do Lower-Power Individuals Really Compete Less? An investigation of Covert Competition. Organization Science. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2023.1684
• Li, H., Wang, X., Williams, M, Chen., Y.-R., & Brockner, J. (2023) My Boss is Younger, Less Educated, and Shorter Tenured: When and Why Status (In)congruence Influences Promotion System Justification. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001086
• Li, H., Chen, Y.-R., & Hildreth, J. A (2022). Powerlessness also Corrupts: Lower Power Increases Self-Promotional Lying. Organization Science. ttps://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.1630
  
  

Have you ever wondered how trust really works? Why do we trust others, and why do they trust us? It turns out that trust involves judgments of both competence and integrity, each of which matter a lot for how we’re trusted, and how—and if!—we’re forgiven if we break that trust. Dr. Kim offers four guiding lessons of wisdom for managing trust. In his words: first, start with the premise that most of us want to be good. Second, recognize the complexity of truth—take time to exchange stories and take the time to really listen. Third, recognize the upside of intent—it can be easier to maintain and repair trust when others believe our intentions are good. Fourth, building off a memorable case study from the book, recognize the need to walk through the doors: the time needs to be ripe for real reconciliation to happen. In this episode, Dr. Peter Kim from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California teaches us all about trust, reviewing decades of his own and others’ work to help us see how we can reap the benefits of trust, even though it can take hard work and unlearning ingrained habits and assumptions. Dr. Kim provides research-based insights and helpful practical tips for how we can get the most out of trust—for ourselves and others—in our lives.

Dr. Peter Kim bio:

Dr. Peter Kim is a Professor of Management and Organization at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Dr. Kim’s research focuses on the dynamics of social misperception and its implications for negotiations, work groups, and dispute resolution. His research has been published in numerous scholarly journals, received ten national and international awards, and been featured by the New York Times, Washington Post, and National Public Radio. He serves as a Senior Editor for Organization Science journal, as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Trust Research, and on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Review and Negotiation and Conflict Management Research. He is a past Associate Editor for the Academy of Management Review and past Chair of the Academy of Management’s Conflict Management Division. He has also just completed his first mass-market book called, How Trust Works: The Science of How Relationships are Built, Broken, and Repaired. It is available from most bookstores.

Books referenced in the episode:

• Kim, P. H. (2024). How Trust Works: The Science of How Relationships are Built, Broken, and Repaired. New York: MacMillan.

What does a rowboat have to do with leadership? It turns out to be a powerful metaphor to understand both positive leadership and our own contributions—and potential areas for self-development—for the organization. In this episode, author, film producer, humanitarian, serial entrepreneur, former and current CEO, lifelong learner, and constant questioner Paul Fayad teaches us how to recognize the role of positive leadership and how to use it in organizations, to focus on the rowers and the work that they accomplish in order to increase productivity and lower turnover in organizations, and to understand that personalities are stable and that changing personalities that are not a good fit with our organizations is not where our focus should be. Instead, it should be on recognizing and rewarding positive behaviors in our rowers and on moving ourselves in most cases from sitters to rowers. Based on his real-world application over many decades of the science of leadership and behaviors to his own work in industry, Paul Fayad provides tested personal and professional insights and helpful practical tips for how we can recognize and use these principles in our daily lives.

Fayad, P., & Lam, C., F. (2023). Shaping a Winning Team: A Leader's Guide to Hiring, Assessing, and Developing the People You Need to Succeed. New York: Amplify Publishing Group.

Paul Fayad Bio

Paul has owned, operated, and run multiple companies throughout his 40 years in business. Paul has consulted with multiple organizations nationwide to establish leadership programs based on positive leadership skills. He has lectured at universities and college business schools in the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong. Paul has been invited as a national speaker and has written numerous articles in trade journals and e-books. Paul recently co-authored the book Shaping a Winning Team: A leader’s guide to Hiring, Assessing and Developing the People You Need to Succeed. Recently Paul produced the Documentary Helambu, How One School Changed Everything, which was a winner of the London Film Festival and finalist at the Banff and Vancouver Film Festivals.

He co-founded and is active with the East Side Youth Sports Foundation, dedicated to helping disadvantaged children in Detroit participate in sports and literacy programs. He is active with the Tsering’s Fund in Nepal, providing young girls and orphans who would otherwise face human trafficking the opportunity for education through scholarships. Paul is involved with Friends to Mankind and the Dhyan Vimal Institute based in Canada and Malaysia, providing coursework in leadership and self-development. Paul has worked with Habitat for Humanity locally and internationally.

Links to entities referenced in the episode:

https://positiveleader.com/

https://elmlearning.com/

https://esysf.com/

https://www.tseringsfund.org/

https://www.dhyanvimalinstitute.com/