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