Getting High on Recovery

As a leader, power can make you lonely. And loneliness can cost you.

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Be cautious with the Ring of Power

For most of his life, my father wanted to be either a Farmer or a Manager. We lived in the city for most of our lives, so dream #1 was out of the question.

I can still remember his disappointment when he was turned down for management, time after time. Then finally, he was picked. He loved the job for about five years until his rigid personality, his hatred for his boss and his love of whiskey got to him. The power made him into a different person. Just ask Bilbo Baggins. The more you wear the ring, the more it will wear on you.

Ask leaders about their mental health and they will find a way to excuse themselves and escape to the bathroom. Leaders may not talk about their mental health, but they are happy to talk about power. Google shows nearly half a Billion hits when searching for Power and Leadership. Representative hits include:

• The Role of Power in Effective Leadership
• Power and Leadership
• The Five Types of Power in Leadership

Leadership will impact your stress level, but one of the perks appears to be the power to achieve professional and personal goals. Unfortunately, articles about leadership power can be misleading because they ignore the potential dark side of the Ring of Power: Wearing it may change us and impact our sense of well-being.

Power can make you lonely

For the rest of the article, click on the link here.

Keep it Real

Previously published by smswaby at The Good Men Project

Photos by  Rodrigo Olivera and Frédéric BISSON