Leadership, Power, and Corruption

Introduction 

In various organizations, questions arise as to what leads leaders to become corrupt in their diverse organizational actions. A large number of good leaders usually lose track when they rise through ranks in their organizations. Various studies reveal that individuals in powerful positions become self-centered together with unaware of what their juniors do, say, or need. Situations become complex because the staff scrutinize the different things that those in power say or do in a careful manner (Nancy, 2014) . These two issues merge and result to a toxic organization. For individuals in charge of persons, having more power than others can lead them to emphasize on their individual wants and needs more, direct less focus to the needs of others, and act as if rules to not apply to them. This issue does not just apply to limited types of personalities. A large number of individuals in leadership positions find themselves in these situations, due to human nature. Many people are not capable of seeing themselves in the manner that others do, while most of them are under the influence of mind tricks, such as the self-enhancement bias (Lovatt, 2016) . They perceive themselves in a positive light. 

For good bosses, they need to remain prepared to avoid such traps, such as questioning themselves regularly to allow them gain self-awareness. They ensure to seek feedback while listening to other people’s needs. Leaders should not forget how closely the people they lead watch them, and they should avoid taking advantage of the leadership positions and ignoring the needs of their subordinates. For great bosses, they safeguard the interests of their people by offering supporting resource. Even in cases where they suffer personally, great bosses show willingness to take risks (Lash, 2015) . They protect their staff from nosy visitors, meddlesome executives, red tapes, and unnecessary meetings as well as other things that waste their time. Leaders realize that they are successful when their subordinates feel that their support them in their diverse organizational endeavors. However, when it comes to bad bosses, they embark on opposite acts, which results to chaos within an organization. This is particularly the case when it comes to leaders who are unable to utilize their power efficiently, while it ends up corrupting their activities within the organization (Nancy, 2014) . Thus, the paper discusses why power corrupts individuals in power and what needs doing to address such situations. 

Literature Review 

When individuals in power rise through levels in their organizations, the power that they acquire ends up corrupting them. History reveals this situation. Once individuals acquire power positions, they change and become bad, as it has been the case with notable individuals, such as Vladimir Lenin, Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and in India after the era of Mahatma Gandhi among other individuals (Bendahan, Zehnder, Pralong, & Antonakis, 2015) . Even among family and friends, it is possible to encounter people changing from normal to self-centered, arrogant, and greedy once they amass power. The power acquired might be minor, such as serving as the leader of a parent-teacher group, or as essential as serving in a top government or organizational position (Williams, 2014) . The reason as to why this happens consistently to people is that power usually as its own identity.

Power normally has strange influence on people as human beings. It has an addictive and intoxicating effect that can change life and destroy. The reason this occurs is that individuals require power to allow them to live (Foulk, Lanaj, Tu, Erez, & Archambeau, 2018) . When they acquire more power, they feel better in life. The power associated with fame, good looks, money, status, position, or where people live adds to their sense of wellbeing and security (Sanders, Wisse, & Van Yperen, 2015) . These convince them that they are capable of withstanding the influences of withstanding the hostile environmental forces from where they reside, while giving them confidence to look positively toward the future. This kind of feeling is entirely normal. Nonetheless, it is crucial to note that power has its own identity. When people encounter it, it ends up affecting and changing them (van Prooijen & Van Lange, 2014) . For example, certain individuals feel somehow nervous, overawed, excited, or appear cool when they encounter famous people, which serve as a reaction on its own. Many individuals also experience a similar feeling, such as when getting into a Ferrari (Case & Maner, 2015) . However, this is not always positive. Individuals also become nasty when other people threaten their wellbeing’s source, while that holding and grasping to what they need serves as what defines human behavior, starting from childhood to adulthood.

In fact, people understand that power has its individual traits. For instance, people working in electrical engineering or power generation plants understand that certain qualities need controlling and managing to ensure that it emerges useful as opposed to becoming a destructive force (Bendahan, Zehnder, Pralong, & Antonakis, 2015) . If excessive power passes via a cable that lacks sufficient strength for handing it, the power ends up destroying its own channel, thereby resulting to a meltdown. The same case applies to human beings subjected to power positions while lacking the needed training and character strength. The power ends up destroying their moral structure, which in turn ends up being destructive. This is what corruption entails (Williams, 2014) . Individuals become corrupted once they gain power while they are incapable of utilizing it in a productive manner.

For instance, the film “The Lord of the Rings” can facilitate in depicting the corrupting nature of power. The entire story revolves around a ring, which Bilbo Baggins possesses, which he offers to Frodo, his nephew. Here, the ring depicts a power allegory to an extent that it corrupts individuals, such as Gollum, who is ill equipped to handle its effects. Luckily, Gandalf has knowledge of handling the ring, while he sees the strength and humility in Frodo’s character in carrying it to its eventual obliteration. While approaching the end, Frodo shows signs of corruption, although fate intercedes, while Gollum acquires it from him. Doing so leads Gollum to his death, while he carries the ring for destruction in Mount Doom fires. Here, the “Lord of the Rings” depicts the effect of power toward individuals (Bendahan, Zehnder, Pralong, & Antonakis, 2015) . Power has the ability of corrupting individuals, leading them to their ultimate downfall in the end. 

When responding to the corrupting nature of power in leadership roles, it is essential to note that character strength plays a critical role. Honesty, humility, and determination for acting in a just manner offer effective safeguards to people against the destructive influences of unrestrained power. Powers can create and they can destroy (Foulk, Lanaj, Tu, Erez, & Archambeau, 2018) . When individuals characterized by solid integrity acquire positions in high offices, they realize that they need to ensure that they utilize the power entrusted to them effectively. They should do this to improve the wellbeing of those people surrounding them and who have appointed them in a faithful manner (Williams, 2014) . These individuals might be CEOs (chief executive officers) presidents, military commanders, or government ministers among other individuals holding powerful positions. In areas where such kinds of individuals lead, potential for good prevails (Sanders, Wisse, & Van Yperen, 2015) . The reason for this is that the power they hold shows potential for good, since they can institute positive influences to the society via the entities that they control. 

Nonetheless, the reverse can also occur. When individuals lacking moral strength required for ensuring the realization of overall good hold key positions, the results can result to huge destructions. In the corporate environment, Enron Corp’s collapse offers a valuable lesson concerning what would occur after freeing the human nature’s dark side. The existing controls become irrelevant while greed and pride dominate (Williams, 2014) . Friedrich Nietzsche referred to this human state’s element the “will to power,” which serves as something precarious in the nature of humans, which shapes their history and reality. Failure to check the “will to power” regularly leads corruption to serve as the unavoidable result (Sanders, Wisse, & Van Yperen, 2015) . Such incidences have prevailed in various developing nations, such as Ferdinand Marcos in 1970s Philippines, Robert Mugabe in 2000s Zimbabwe, and almost during the entire history of Russia. 

No country lacks incidences of corruption. Presidential races become ugly even in the case of the U.S., mostly because power is usually at stake. Nevertheless, certain nations have increasingly advanced as well as effective systems for dealing with power corruption than others (van Prooijen & Van Lange, 2014) . The influence of the negative power influence is might be severe. When persons driven by need for acquiring power take leadership positions major business and government, it becomes possible to see procurement as well as tendering systems biased with the goal favor certain family members and cronies. These activities end up dismantling financial controls, leading to cases of fraud and embezzlement (Case & Maner, 2015) . Unqualified individuals acquire power in key positions based on relationship as opposed to competency, resulting to numerous problems within the society. 

To avoid the corrupting nature of power within organizations, it is crucial to deploy certain mechanism. In this case, to ensure that an organization operates, power should lie in the decision makers’ hands to allow them to perform their jobs and allow their businesses to grow (Sanders, Wisse, & Van Yperen, 2015) . With increased governance levels, executives would need to work with numerous restrictions, which would hinder their productivity and creativity in line with hindering their operations with inflexible red tapes (Bendahan, Zehnder, Pralong, & Antonakis, 2015) . By contrast, organizations that fail to institute operational roles supports the “will to power,” which leads to increased cases of embezzlement, fraud, and exploitation among other evils that prevail when corruption dominates an organization. 

To deal with such situations, it is essential to lay emphasis on two major forces, which would make significant difference. Firstly, it would be vital to recruit, empower, as well as promote individuals based on their level of competence and character. For instance, Warren Buffet argues that when it comes to searching for individuals to hire, targeting people with three major qualities, including intelligence, integrity, and energy would contribute toward efficient organizational performance (Bendahan, Zehnder, Pralong, & Antonakis, 2015) . Integrity is tremendously essential for individuals in power positions. In this case, developing ideal assessment approaches for identifying persons having solid commitment to moral standards, including truth, honesty, and justice is essential to making sure that organizations allow the right people to acquire power (Williams, 2014) . Remarkably, studies have revealed that the values and characters of people become apparent when they attain seven years. This indicates that individuals of working age while accustomed to cheating, lying, and stealing have minimal chances of changing their nature. Thus, identifying and screening these kinds of people out of the system for promotion would play a critical role in making sure that the organiz ation remains in good shape (Lang, 2011) . Secondly, dealing with incidences the corrupting nature of power in leadership positions requires that organizations have appropriate accountability and guidance systems. In organizations, it is vital to note that even those individuals having strong values are possible top corrupt in the event that a company fails to instate clarity, which leads incidences of temptation to grow (Foulk, Lanaj, Tu, Erez, & Archambeau, 2018) . Thus, having measures of making sure an organization have means of identifying, dealing with, and preventing wrong behavior, would make it possible to make the right decisions whenever temptations arise. 

Certain measures can assist in building organizational strength while making sure to safeguard its wellbeing. These comprise of having clear rules, particularly those related to hospitality and gifts. Setting internal systems for reporting, especially whistleblowing would also make it possible to identify the individuals who break the rules and deal with them appropriately. In addition, it is crucial to adopt robust procedures for disciplining to make sure that it is possible to eject wrongdoers from an organization (Case & Maner, 2015) . The procurement and tendering system should also be interference-proof in line with making sure that employees and outside parties understand the rules that govern an organization. 

Analysis 

In the area of leadership, certain theories and models influence the manner in which leaders exercise power, while guiding them on the ideal paths to follow to ensure efficiency in their operations. The common theories/models that can guide leaders to exercise effective leadership to avoid being corrupted by the power that the leadership position endows comprise of leader-member exchange theory, adaptive leadership mode, and the transformational leadership model.

Firstly, the leader-member exchange theory (LMX) differs from the typical leadership theories. Major theories emphasize on traits that govern effective leaders. For LMX, targets the relationships that the personal traits might affect between leaders and their subordinates. The theory requires looking past the characteristics that define effective leaders by illustrating a leadership taxonomy with numerous spheres, including the leader, subordinates, as well as the dyadic relationship. The theory argues that emphasizing on a single domain might result to flawed investigation and understandings concerning solid leadership (Power, 2013) . LMX introduces the relationship and follower domains in line with leadership styles, including transformational leadership. The major idea behind LMX is that efficacy in leadership prevails when the leaders and followers manage to establish mature relationship, allowing them to realize the advantages that the relationship offers. LMX targets the dyadic relationship between subordinates and leaders, rather than an organizational group. Relationships usually differ with each follower, while some end up being of high quality unlike the case of others. For the subordinates in high-quality relationships, they belong to an “in-group,” whereas the ones associated with low quality relationships are perceived as out-group members (Nelson, 2013) . In the case of the in-group subordinates, they witness openness in communication, more job latitude, as well as increased confidence on the side of their leaders. In this kind of a situation, reciprocation prevails from in-group subordinates, since they portray increased commitment and responsibility, which drives an organization toward realizing success. When it comes to relationships established with out-group members, they follow the formal employment agreement limitations. For the leaders understanding the role that LMX plays, they have increased understanding of the need for refraining from creating out-groups, while focusing on boosting the in-group size. In the event of the corrupting power, within organizations, therefore, the LMX model can play a critical role in fostering effective relationships between subordinates and their leaders (Bauer & Erdogan, 2016) . In this case, the leaders would be able to listen to the needs of their followers, while at the same time putting into consideration their ideas and opinions to ensure improved organizational performance. By following the tenets of this leadership theory, leaders are able to involve their subordinates in the decision making process, which makes sure that the decisions they make are rational rather than targeting satisfying self-interests of the leaders. 

Secondly, the adaptive leadership model would serve as a guide in terms of allowing organizations to avoid the corrupting nature of the leadership role. For the adaptive leadership model, it serves as a practical leadership framework, which assists people and companies to cope with the changes that occur in the environment as well as deal with recurring challenges effectively (White, 2018) . Initially, it is crucial to consider change in itself to facilitate in addressing the challenges, which would address the change. For any organization, it faces recurring as well as persistent challenges. These usually fall back on clear solutions, including hiring professionals, deploying new technologies, as well as boosting the processes of communication. In various instances, undertaking the process follows a hierarchical approach, while the senior management is responsible for coming up with the solution (Obolensky, 2014) . In the event of an adaptive challenge, it makes it possible to identify problems in an accurate manner while it entails the whole organization to institute prospective solutions. In the event of adaptive leadership, it also plays an essential role in assisting in cases where an easy solution does not exist. Each individual should have critical skills that can facilitate in searching for systematic changes in this sophisticated world (Dimitriadis & Psychogios, 2016) . When it comes to adaptive leadership, therefore, it can assist individuals in leadership to overcome the corrupting nature of the leadership position. It makes it possible for the leaders to involve other organizational members in the process of making decisions and instating the changes needed in this complex organizational world (White, 2018) . As such, they would manage to put the interests of the organization first by instituting relevant changes, which would allow their companies to overcome any prevailing challenges. 

Thirdly, the transformational leadership model is crucial in allowing leaders to handle the challenges that might prevail when they face problems in managing their power. Transformational leadership requires that leaders focus on encouraging, inspiring, and motivating the workforce to boost innovation as well as institute changes that would allow the company to grow and create a path for future growth (Toolshero, 2018) . This is possible to accomplish at the executive level via making the corporate culture strong, supporting employee ownership, as well as facilitating workplace independence. Transformational leaders ensure to embark on micromanaging to allow to them motivate and inspire their workforce. They trust in the ability of trained workforce to participate in the process of making decisions in the workplace. The management approach ensures that employees have room for exercising creativity, focus on the future, as well as look for solutions that can eradicate past problems, the employees who portray ideal effective leadership approaches, which would guide them in emerging as transformational leaders in the future (Lang, 2011) . Regarding the transformational leadership approach, therefore, it would facilitate in ending any issues that would lead leaders to give in to the corrupting power of their position. The leadership framework allows leaders to trust in the ability of their subordinates in making vital decisions in the workplace. As such, the leaders do not dominate the decision making process, meaning that they cannot take advantage on their position to fulfill their own self-interests (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013) . This makes sure that an organization runs in an efficient manner, while the employees are ready to assist the top leaders in case any inconsistencies appear in the process of making decisions. 

Discussion 

From the findings in the literature review, it is apparent that leaders have been disposed to corruption throughout history, particularly because of the challenges that they encounter in terms of utilizing their power to drive their organizations to success. Most of the leaders who are incapable of utilizing their leadership appropriately are those who are characterized by greed, while their levels of trust are considerable low (Bendahan, Zehnder, Pralong, & Antonakis, 2015) . Furthermore, they lack sufficient understanding of what it entails to be a leader, mostly because they lack relevant training in the field. As such, they give into pressure easily and end up abusing their positions of power to meet their own selfish interests (Case & Maner, 2015) . Since numerous cases of corruption have prevailed in the workplace due to inefficient leaders throughout history, i t is crucial to note that the trend is not likely to change in the current lifetime. As such, the ideal approach is making sure that the existing governance structures, institutions, procedures, policies, and enforcements remain significantly strong to address these perpetual challenges (Williams, 2014) . Doing this well would make sure that all the creativity, energy, and power work together, making sure that organizations, societies, and families realize the benefits. Deploying the different leadership theories/models, such as leader-member exchange theory, adaptive leadership mode, and the transformational leadership model would play a critical role in guiding the practices of leaders (Sanders, Wisse, & Van Yperen, 2015) . These would make sure that leaders exercise effective leadership approaches, which would allow their institutions to realize undisputed successes in the future.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, power has the ability of corrupting individuals in leadership positions, particularly if organizations do not have ideal measures dealing with such matters. In addition, it is evident that even good leaders can turn bad if their companies fail to impose standards and principles that define acceptable leadership approaches and best practices. Various theories can allow leaders to exercise leadership efficiently, such as leader-member exchange theory, adaptive leadership mode, and the transformational leadership model. These models guide leaders on ways of exercising openness and including their subordinates in the decision making process, hence making sure that the decisions focus on meeting the overall organizational needs rather than just the selfish interests of the leaders. Following these guidelines would lead to the emergence of organizations that cater for the needs of their stakeholders appropriately, thereby contributing to their future success.

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