The Seduction of Power « Servant Leadership Institute

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The Seduction of Power

Wed, May 25th, 2011

This is a story about sex and power, so I know you will read the entire blog! By the way of full disclosure, I am all for sex and power . . . only in the right context of marriage and never when those two words are used together. The recent stories of the former Mr. Universe and just-past Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and previous IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s sexual transgressions only remind us of the dangerous and messy cocktail blend of sex and power. We have seen these indiscretions in the past. Have you read some of the exploits of other American leaders?

Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Franklin
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Bill Clinton
Newt Gingrich
John Edwards

Of course, sex and power is nothing new. Many of the Roman Caeser’s used their power to have sex with other Senator’s wives, commit incest with their sisters, and underage boys. The mixture of sex and power is not just reserved to political institutions, but is evident in religious circles, corporate boardrooms, and celebrity engagements. Truly consensual sex between adults can never really happen when there is a significant disparity of economic, social, or emotional power. One party, no matter the age, is just too dependent on the other!

Perhaps the 16^th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, really understood the seductive trance of sex and power when he wrote, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” Power breeds entitlement if not checked with humility, mercy, kindness, grace, and love. This is how you can keep your power (at whatever level) in control:

Don’t pretend to be someone you are not.
Don’t presume a flattering position for yourself in any respect.
Don’t push to override the will of others in the context of your life’s work.

Our power is a sacred gift given to us so that we can use it for the benefit of others. Power was designed for leaders to make this world a better place. Leaders are value-added assets, not weapons of mass destruction. Servant leaders may love sex, but they will never mix it with power. See I told you that you would read the entire blog!

Tony Baron

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 at 8:52 am and is filed under Servant Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.