Power is a powerful thing. Leadership, to be effective, involves wielding power to produce desired results. Leaders are set apart from the people they are responsible for leading precisely because of the power inherent in leading. Leaders are expected to assert power to affect results, and their effectiveness is judged by those results. The more substantial those results are judged to be, the more powerful leaders become…and the more susceptible they become to the trappings of power. It is sadly common for leaders to become intoxicated by power, more obsessed with gaining it than putting it to good use for the followers they are privileged to lead. When leaders become drunk with power, hubris is sure to follow, and followers are sure to be misled.
Leadership, ideally, involves using and distributing power in a way that best serves the interests of those being led. Hubris, conversely, upends the central service-focus of leadership, applying power not for the good of others, but for the aggrandizement, gratification, and protection of the leader’s own interests. As the purest form of selfishness, hubris uses power to serve itself. It takes a tremendous amount of self-governance and discipline for a leader to direct power toward noble aims without becoming compromised by it.
Left unchecked, the acquisition of power becomes fused with a strong fear of losing it, causing the leader’s motivations and actions to be directed by fear, paranoia, and distrust. Even leaders who start out with noble intentions can become inebriated with power and corrupted by hubris. The evil Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader’s master and mentor in the Star Wars movies, was right when he said, “All those who gain power are afraid to lose it. Even the Jedi.”
Given that the exercise of power is central to leadership, combined with the tremendous amount of self-discipline it takes to withstand power’s addictive and hubris-fortifying properties, every leader must answer a critical question: How will I use my leadership power?
Avoid the Swelling
Swelling is another word for hubris, and as Decker suggests, it progresses to other damaging behaviors. As the offspring of hubris, these behaviors work to undermine and diminish a leader’s impact. Hubris is at the root of all sorts of other abhorrent and self-centered leader behavior, such as…
1. Rigidity
Strength and conviction are essential leadership traits. But when a leader’s beliefs harden into immovable positions that exclude new ideas or evolving approaches, their influence begins to deteriorate. This kind of rigidity shows up as a my-way-or-the-highway mindset—one that slowly suffocates innovation and has brought entire organizations to a standstill through leadership rigor mortis.
2. Complacency
Leadership vitality depends on a continual pursuit of learning, growth, and adaptation. Over time, however, leaders may lean too heavily on past successes, applying outdated solutions to new challenges that demand fresh thinking. Even those who once disrupted the status quo can become part of an entrenched establishment. As passion wanes, complacency takes hold, lowering expectations and quietly eroding both personal and organizational standards.
3. Incompetence
Competence builds confidence. Leaders must possess enough depth of knowledge to earn trust and credibility with those they lead. When followers sense uncertainty or a lack of understanding, confidence quickly evaporates. Hubris compounds the problem by convincing leaders they know more than they do, blinding them to their limitations and leaving teams to question both direction and judgment.
4. Intimidation
Fear can generate short-term compliance, which explains why it remains a common leadership tactic. But fear has diminishing returns and ultimately undermines engagement, creativity, and performance. A leader’s responsibility is to build courage and confidence—not to erode them through anxiety and control. Hubris reframes intimidation as strength, using fear as a tool of dominance rather than a catalyst for growth.
5. Invulnerability
Effective leadership requires humanity. Followers want to know that the person behind the title is real, self-aware, and willing to acknowledge limitations. Authenticity and vulnerability bridge the natural distance between leaders and their teams. People instinctively detect pretense, offering loyalty to leaders who are genuine and withholding trust from those who project invincibility. Hubris drives leaders to hide behind a façade of superiority, isolating them in the process.
6. Ingratitude
Results matter—but people make results possible. A leader’s success depends on the commitment, effort, and creativity of others. Without followers, leadership simply doesn’t exist. Leaders who fail to express sincere and consistent gratitude risk losing both trust and engagement. At its core, hubris withholds appreciation because acknowledging others means sharing credit—and stepping out of the spotlight.
Hubris rarely announces itself. It creeps in quietly, disguised as confidence, experience, or success. That is what makes it so dangerous. The very power that enables leaders to create meaningful results is the same force that can distort judgment, erode relationships, and ultimately undermine the leadership it once strengthened.
As you consider the power you hold today, ask yourself: In what subtle ways might my success be shaping my leadership—for better or for worse—and who has the courage to tell me when hubris starts to creep in?
This post is based on an excerpt from The Leadership Killer: Reclaiming Humility in an Age of Arrogance.
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