Not power but pressure

I have quoted Lord Acton for years, and you probably have as well. “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This line sounds so true that most people never question it. We just nod, repeat it, and move on. But then a leadership book caught my attention.

Executive coach Sabina Nawaz, author of ‘You’re the Boss,‘ spent decades in C-suites watching leaders succeed and fail. She argues that the famous Acton quote has been misunderstood for generations. According to her, power is not what corrupts people. Pressure is.

The more I thought about this, the more I realized she had identified something that many leadership books miss.

Think about leaders you know who lost their way. I mean those who started out as good, ethical, hardworking and respected people but eventually became someone nobody wanted to work for. Did power corrupt them? Or did pressure wear them down?

From my years working with executives in different industries, I have seen that most leaders do not become bad people. Instead, they become brittle.

The perfectionist who once inspired excellence turns into a micromanager who stifles initiative. The decisive leader, once admired for clarity, becomes a boss who no longer listens. The passionate achiever, once inspiring, becomes someone people avoid when there is bad news.

It is not the title that causes this change. It is the pressure.

Most leaders handle themselves well under normal circumstances. They pause, choose their words and ask questions before making assumptions.

But when real pressure hits – like missing a target, facing a demanding board, or dealing with a costly mistake – their unfiltered reactions emerge. They react instead of responding. They rush instead of listen. They control instead of coach. They criticize instead of encouraging.

The hardest part is that most do not even notice it happening.

This leads to another problem: the higher you go, the less truth you hear.

I know leaders who truly believe their organizations are healthy simply because no one has told them otherwise. People stay silent because they are afraid to speak up. Subordinates learn to be cautious. Peers become diplomatic.

The honest colleague who once said, “Hey, you were a bit harsh in there,” usually disappears after a few promotions.

Nawaz calls this the power gap – the space between what leaders think is happening and what their teams actually experience. As this gap grows, decision-making becomes weaker.

You cannot lead what you cannot see. And you cannot see what no one will show you.

The solution is not a new system or framework. It is a habit.

Stay accessible. Stay curious. Have real conversations with people at every level – not only with your direct reports or those who agree with you. Close the gap on purpose and often before it becomes too wide.

Distance creates assumptions. In leadership, assumptions are costly.

The difference between an average leader and a great one is rarely intelligence, charisma, or even experience. After all the seminars, MBA programs and leadership retreats, it often comes down to one thing: the pause.

When everything feels urgent and your instincts tell you to react, great leaders stop, breathe, and choose a better response.

Reacting is automatic. It is human nature. Leading is intentional. It is a choice.

Every leader can make that choice – not only those who are naturally patient.

Nawaz calls this the greatest leadership project: managing yourself first.

Before you lead a company, lead your own reactions. Before you develop your team, build your self-awareness.

Ask yourself honestly: What triggers me? What situations bring out my worst? What will I do differently next time?

Your team does not need a hero. They need a builder – someone who helps others grow instead of keeping all the skills to themselves.

Here is the hard truth: when a leader becomes essential, they have quietly failed because they have created dependency.

The real challenge in leadership is not gaining power but remaining wise, humble and worth following after you have it.

This work does not happen in boardrooms or strategy sessions. It happens in quiet moments when pressure hits and you choose, with full awareness, who you will be in the next minute.

Of course, some leaders are simply greedy and unethical, willing to trade their integrity for money. Nawaz is not talking about them, and neither am I. That is a different discussion, and there are already plenty of discussions about it.

This column is for the rest of us: good people under intense pressure, trying to stay human while the world keeps raising the stakes.

It is harder than it seems, and it is worth talking about.

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Join Francis Kong for another run of his one-day Level Up Leadership: Agile. Able. Adaptive. seminar-workshop. Join us at One Rockwell, Makati, for a practical and inspiring learning experience designed for leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, business owners, and professionals who want to lead with greater clarity, confidence, courage, and competence in a disrupted world. Seats are limited. For inquiries and registration, contact April at +63 928 559 1798 or Sylene at +63 976 638 8974.Visit www.levelupleadership.ph