Trappings of Success
“I have a boat, I have a plane…why am I still so unhappy!”
This was the pivotal moment where a cutthroat businessman at the apex of his career suddenly became aware of a desperate sense of meaninglessness in his life.
He was beginning to confront the man he had become.
His materialistic outlook on life and sense of entitlement.
His callous decision making at other people’s expense.
His difficulty developing non-transactional relationships.
His growing disconnect between his company’s operations and his core values.
There was an emerging awareness of how his accumulation of wealth and power was derailing his professional and personal life. That he was struggling to navigate the ‘trappings of success’.
This is a critical journey that many leaders have to take – but not one that many are supported in. We are all too aware of the corruption that power can bring along with it. We have often witnessed this dramatically on the global stage with political leaders like Robert Mugabe who began as a hero who brought Zimbabwean independence but later adopted tyrannical attributes of the colonial system he had once fought against. When handed power leaders can become alienated from their core values and develop destructive and egocentric behaviours.
Many are also aware of the alienating effects of wealth and materialism that often come hand-in-hand with increased hierarchical power. Psychologist Tim Kasser in ‘The High Price of Materialism’ (2003) conducted research over ten years analysing the effect of wealth on people and showed how it distracts from experiences conducive to psychological growth and health – and alienates them from what is truly meaningful. In 2008, psychologist Oliver James went on to coin the term ‘affluenza’ to describe the negative effects of consumerism on people, linking the excessive wealth-seeking in consumerist nations with a high prevalence of mental disorders.
In this article I want to explore the effect of power and wealth on a leader’s psyche and explore how they are able to effectively navigate the ‘trappings of success’. As leaders climb the corporate ladder they can find themselves…
Trapped by increased isolation. Leaders can find themselves struggling to find genuine, reciprocal relationships with others – as a consequence of their seniority. With fewer opportunities for meaningful connections they can find their capacity to empathize with others diminished.
Trapped by increased idealisation. Leaders can find themselves subject to high levels of idealisation where they are celebrated for their achievements and professional success. This intoxicating experience can lead to them becoming increasingly guarded about revealing their flaws or asking for help. Consequently, some start to identify with idealised versions of themselves and become resistant to feedback.
Trapped by increased financial attachment. Leaders can find themselves developing an unhealthy emotional dependence on wealth. Their increased ability to use financial power rather than relational support structures to regulate their emotions and solve problems can result in them becoming less emotionally dependent on others.
Trapped by decreased reciprocity in relationships. Leaders can find themselves surrounded by ‘yes people’ or employees who relate to them opportunistically based on their senior position in the hierarchy. This means that their relationships can become more opaque and their opportunities for increased self – insight are lost as honest feedback disappears.
Trapped by increased self-absorption. Leaders can find themselves operating at a strategic level where they are blind to the consequences of their actions on others; and decision-making for personal gain becomes more likely. For many leaders, particularly those with strong narcissistic tendencies their egocentric behaviour can become especially pronounced.
With each incremental rise up the organizational hierarchy, or increase in a leader’s pay or personal wealth, there is the predictable excitement of progress. But companies need to be mindful of the negative effects of power and wealth and consider how they can mitigate against the implicit psychological effects on people as they climb higher in an organisation. We need to empower leaders to stay grounded and manage the ‘trappings of success’ – hidden forces that propel them away from human connection, their vulnerabilities and core values. Here are three ways that they can navigate these potential snares have been outlined.
1. Connect with their core values. Leaders can find it useful to create a list of core values and “check in” on these on a daily or weekly basis to help them remain focused and in touch with what is important to them. This enables them to move beyond purely transactional relationships and imbue their decisions with meaning linked to a wider purpose. Rather than leaders waiting to reach the top of the corporate ladder or amassing personal wealth before discovering a wider, often philanthropic purpose; people's activities can be imbued with meaning from the smaller beginnings. Companies should consider becoming part of initiatives such as Pledge 1% - a global movement launched in 2014 that encourages and empowers companies of all sizes and stages to donate 1% of their staff time, product, profit, and/or equity to a charity of their choosing. Companies can also develop social responsibility strategies that tie their leaders in to purposeful causes and help them to retain and develop the empathy and integrity needed to effectively lead their employees and relate to shareholders.
2. Develop grounded relationships. Leaders should seek out reciprocal relationships that allow them to receive feedback and cultivate concern for others . The opportunity for reciprocity could be created through developing relationships with people that are: (a) external and disconnected from their position in the hierarchy; (b) respected peers or colleagues at a similar level of seniority; (c) trusted junior employees at lower levels in the hierarchy and explicitly inviting feedback. Leaders should seek out relationships with people who are not interested in stroking their egos and are willing to provide them with insights to grow in empathy for others and reflect on the human consequences of their decisions. Many companies are increasingly understanding the importance of leaders being provided with external coaches who are able to help them to improve business performance and navigate the challenges that power and position bring implicitly with them.
3. Develop grounded experiences. Leaders should seek out personal experiences that ground and connect them with their core values and a rooted sense of self. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz reportedly returns to the housing projects of Brooklyn where he spent his childhood. Billionaire Walmart founder Sam Walton was renowned for choosing to reside in a modest Arkansas home and drive a pickup truck until his death in 1992. These leaders understand the importance of maintaining a sense of perspective in their personal lives. Other leaders may have special places they visit with their families on weekends and vacations and others have places where they can think more clearly. They should have places that connect them to their core values, to other people and to a greater sense of purpose.
Perhaps if companies and leaders begin to take some of these small steps we can empower people to effectively navigate the trappings of success and thrive in their roles.
