Choosing a Path to Power for Good

On November 28, the Corporations and Society Initiative (CASI) at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business hosted an interactive conversation between leading academics and GSB students on how to forge a path to power while creating positive change.

Jeffrey Pfeffer, award-winning leadership teacher, GSB professor of the iconic course, Paths to Power, and author of the book, Power: Why Some People Have It And Some Don't, moderated the event. He was joined by CASI co-faculty director Anat Admati and guest visitor Linda Ginzel. 

Professor Ginzel is an acclaimed faculty member from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, known for her excellence in teaching. She specializes in negotiation, psychology, leadership, and executive development and is the author of Choosing Leadership, a workbook aimed at cultivating leadership skills. She is also the co-founder of Kids in Danger, a non-profit organization dedicated to child safety, after the tragic loss of her son in 1998.

The event was marked by a warm and engaging atmosphere, a testament to the more than 30-year friendship among the speakers, dating back to when Ginzel began her teaching career at Stanford. Their personal stories and insights highlighted their enduring bond and added depth to the discussion.

Pfeffer initiated the dialogue by inviting Ginzel and Admati to reflect on their experiences as leaders striving for positive change. Ginzel emphasized the importance of staying true to one's values and priorities, resisting societal pressures, and maintaining focus.

“We have to have our own definitions of what we believe is right or important and we have to be careful that we don't default on what society or other people tell us is more important,” she said. “It's very easy to go off of your mission, to be distracted by all sorts of shiny objects and accouterments of success.”

Ginzel shared insights from her groundbreaking career, including her choice to apply social psychology in business education.

“The question is, “to what end do you put your knowledge, to put your energy? You have to decide what it means to you. No one can decide that for you. In choosing leadership, I'm trying to get you to take more responsibility for your own growth.”

Admati spoke about her extensive efforts in advocating for banking reform and challenging misleading information from powerful entities.

“I've been in this battle for at least 13 years, 14 years, in every way I could. So that means, first of all, trying to talk to the policymakers themselves, trying to talk to the Congress, trying to talk to the regulators, trying to submit comments, then writing a book [Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do about it] for the public. I learned that it's tough if powerful people don't want to hear you.”

She underscored the importance of persistence and focusing on the greater good.

“If you are against power, you just have to dust yourself off and keep going, basically, because you just feel it's the right thing to do,” she said. Powerful people and entities shouldn't get away with what they're doing because society needs better.

Admati also explained that when choosing the path to power for good, you may have to give up some power to create effective change. 

The conversation also delved into the moral implications of seeking power. Ginzel explored the ethical considerations and personal compromises involved in the pursuit of power, emphasizing the importance of aligning one's actions with their identity and values.

“When is it all right to compromise your values to achieve power, realizing you may be able to do more in a place of higher power?” she asked. “If you compromise your value in this moment in order to do something good in the future. By the time you get to that future, you're not going to be the same person because your identity is going to follow your behaviors.”

“[When] you go to an organization, look at who's at the top. “Do you want to be like them? If you don't want to be like them, you should leave that situation because that's what success looks like in this organization.”

Admati suggested that it is fine to be agnostic about power, but that “we just have to be sure people who have [power] don’t abuse it and, ideally not abuse it ourselves, but use it for good.”

Pfeffer asked for their thoughts on what students can do to prioritize their efforts and create positive change.

 “There are all sorts of things that you could contribute money to, contribute your heart, your talent, your energy, and you have to decide,” Ginzel told the audience. “And whatever you choose, it's going to affect who you become and the future that you create.”

Students and faculty engaged the panelists in a lively Q&A session, where Ginzel advised on aligning personal and organizational values and choosing battles wisely for effective impact.

“If you stay in an organization where you do not fit,” she explained, “[you’ll do] one of three things. You’ll either leave, or they will change you, or you will be very miserable before until you leave.”

“Choose wisely and fit where you can put your energy to good use, where you won't be spinning in place, and using all your good energy in order to try to fight a system that doesn't deserve your energies.”

Pfeffer concluded with insights on the profound influence of environments on personal decisions and attitudes, advocating for choosing environments that align with personal values and aspirations.

The discussion underscored the complex interplay between leadership, power, and ethics, offering valuable lessons for aspiring leaders on how to navigate these challenging yet rewarding aspects of personal and professional growth.