Does power corrupt people Essays - Social Psychology, Power

Does power corrupt people Essays - Social Psychology, Power Does power corrupt people Shance McGuffey PHL/458 July 16, 2015 Albert Vandiver Does power corrupt people Ever since the beginning of time people have always tried to rule the world and with little success. Many famous leaders of our time have let the power they held corrupt them to the point of their own assassination by their own people. Today people use their power in different ways. They think since they have the power that they can do as they please and no one will say a word because they are the boss. There are corporate CEO's that misuse company property such as cars and planes. There are others that make their workers do things that they would not normally do in any other situation. Some have suggested that President Clinton's engaged in a sexual dalliance with his intern Monica Lewinsky simply because of power. There are two types of power according to Ronald E Riggio Ph.D. One is Socialized power and this power is the power used to benefit others. The other form of power is called personalized power, and it is used for personal gain instead of promoting their company and or people. (Riggio, 2009) Leaders can also become "drunk" by the power which causes them to engage in wrong behavior, simply because they can. They continue this behavior because they have and can get away with it. A sense of power can cause a leader to engage in exception making believing that the rules that govern what is right and what is wrong does not apply to the powerful leader like themselves. On the positive side, power makes leaders more assertive and confident and certain of their decisions. This enables them to move forward on a chosen courses of action. Leaders must use power to get the job done. There is a lot of good that come from leaders with power. They donate money to the needy, volunteer, and help people to gain success just like they have. Legitimately unless the leaders with power are caught and punished for what they are doing or are engaging in illegal activity they are only going to be perceived as doing wrong. There are a lot of leaders out there that play that fine grey line and play it well and to one person they are doing everything right and to another he is doing everything for themselves. References Riggio, R. E. (2009, August 8). How Power Corrupts Leaders. Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200908/how-power-corrupts-leaders