Is there a secret to lasting power? Yes, and Dacher Keltner has been teaching leaders about it for decades. And the secret is not the ruthless, manipulative approach associated with 15th-century politician and writer Niccolo Machiavelli. It is actually the opposite.

As a University of California, Berkeley, Professor of Psychology, and Founder and Director of the Greater Good Science Center, Dacher Keltner shares research-based insights he has gained. And in his latest book, The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence, he discusses a new science of power and 20 guiding power principles.

In this interview, we talk about:

How the legacy of Niccolo Machiavelli continues to inform power
Why power is about so much more than dominance, manipulation, and ruthlessness
Why we need to question a coercive model of power
The short- versus long-term impact of different kinds of power
Why power is about lifting others up
Why lasting power is given, not grabbed
The important role that reputation, gossip and esteem play in who gains power
How, within days, group members already know who holds the power
What makes for enduring power
How our body language and words speak volumes about power
Why Abraham Lincoln is a fascinating study of empathetic power
The fact that great and powerful leaders are incredible storytellers
How feeling powerful makes us less aware of risk
How feeling powerful makes us less empathetic, attentive and responsive to others
How feeling powerful actually overrides the part of our brain that signals empathy
How drivers of more expensive cars (46 percent) tend to ignore pedestrians
How powerful people often tell themselves stories to justify hierarchies
The price we pay for powerlessness
Concrete ways we can cultivate enduring, empathetic power
Gender and power
Why the key to parenting is to empower children to have a voice in the world

Episode Links

Dacher Keltner

Greater Good Science Center

Frans de Waal

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Thomas Clarkson and the abolition movement

Why Civil Resistance Works by Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan

House of Cards

The 100-Year Life by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott

CM 048: Dacher Keltner on the Power Paradox

Curious Minds at Work