Power Blinds…Addendum

A few postings ago I shared some thoughts about power and the deleterious effect it can have.  As I reviewed the last few postings in preparation for writing today’s words, it occurred to me that there are two additional things I should mention about the blindness of power: overconfidence and selective ignorance…both hiding out behind that haze of testosterone.

Overconfidence comes from the mere idea of being convinced you are right.  You are the most powerful, the highest paid, the most experienced, the most knowledgeable, have the biggest house…and a corporate jet.  How could you not be right about what you’re thinking and doing?   And who is going to tell you otherwise?

So you wind up ignoring any evidence that is contrary to your thinking, that leads to the idea that you might just be wrong.  The researchers into these things call this Confirmation Bias…the idea that you selectively seek out ideas, information, and people who agree with you and confirm your thinking.  The insidious thing about this is that it’s not conscious.  You don’t wake up thinking “I guess I’ll find someone who agrees with me about everything.”

Unfortunately if you don’t Pay Attention all the time your unconscious…and those afraid to cross you…gets the better of you.  They take you right into the world of Selective Ignorance: ignoring and explaining away contradictory information rather than noticing that you’re going down the wrong path…or at best, a less good path.

Luckily there is a cure.  Expand rather than contract your circle of advisors, travel widely (as in the last posting), keep a neigh sayer around…and listen to them, Pay Attention to what’s really going on around you rather than the sanitized version, take opposing views seriously, and whatever you do…ignore the talking heads.