Pressure Often Corrupts

Power in the hands of the wrong people is dangerous yet pressure is more likely to result in people's misconduct

We’ve all heard that power corrupts and absolute power absolutely corrupts yet there may be more to it and unethical, illegal and immoral behavior than we assume.

In the recent Big Think article, The psychology behind “pressure pitfalls” and why it matters for leaders, Sabina Nawaz wrote why it is stress that regularly leads people to take wrong “exits” and go off course.

“Power blinds us to the impact of our actions,” she wrote, “but it’s not power that corrupts a person’s character. It’s pressure.”

There may be disagreement with that contention yet Nawaz, a CEO coach and advisor, author, keynote speaker and head of Nawaz Consulting, went on to explain.

“None of us is immune. Under enough pressure and without the right systems in place to manage it, anyone’s inner monsters come out to play,” she asserted.

This goes against a common narrative yet I too have been told this (some years ago) by an expert in governance and compliance.

He said that most people don’t intend to operate outside the figurative lines of ethics, legality and morality but the expectations placed on them, the cultural standards within their organization and the job stress leads to some professionals to make very poor, dangerous choices.