Empathy & research proves the higher you advance in authority, the less you have

Bob Whitesel Oct. 23, 2023

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As a trainer of leaders I've noticed that the more success and authority the leader attains the less empathetic they may show to those who work under them. This is worrisome, because it drives other leaders away from an organizational strategy that's based on "meeting the needs of others."

As they get higher positions, they begin to look at the needs of others less, and instead look at the needs of the organization. The result is the employees feel less valued and that their needs are met less of the time. This leads to employee dissatisfaction and leaving. If you have multiple employees leaving at the same time, this is usually the reason. And it leaves a bad testimony to those in the world who are watching. It seems to imply to them that the organization matters more than the people.

Here is how Elizabeth A. Segal, Ph.D., describes the research in her Psychology Today article:

"Research confirms that people in power have lower levels of empathy compared to those who lack power.¹ Those in power are simply not that interested in those below them.² They view themselves as different and above others.

The way people with power view their surroundings is different too. High-powered people attend less to their surroundings and those around them; they are more narrowly focused, typically on what they are most concerned with accomplishing, the task at hand.³ Overall, power diminishes perspective-taking.⁴Perspective-taking, which is viewing the world through the eyes of others, is critical to empathy."

I've written how to deal with this in the first two chapters of my book ORGANIX: Signs of Leadership in a Changing Church(Abingdon Press). In those chapters I show how successful leaders succeed by forcing themselves to focus on the needs of others, over the needs of the organization. The end result is the organization succeeds, but not before first meeting the needs of others. This creates an altruistic-centered organization rather than a self-centered one.

1. van Kleef, G.A., Oveis, C., van der Löwe, I.,LuoKogan, A., Goetz, J., & Keltner, D. (2008). Power, distress, and compassion: Turning a blind eye to the suffering of others. Psychological Science, 19 (12), 1315-1322.

2. Hogeveen, J., Inzlicht, M. & Obhi, S.S. (2014). Power changes how the brain responds to others. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 143 (2), 755-762.

van Kleef, G. A., Oveis, C., Homan, A. C., van der Löwe, I. & Keltner, D. (2015). Power gets you high: The powerful are more inspired by themselves than by others. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6 (4), 472–480.

3. Guinote, A. (2007b). Power and goal pursuit. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1076-1087.

4. Galinsky, A.D., Magee, J.C., Inesi, M.E., & Gruenfeld, D.H. (2006). Power and perspectives not taken. Psychological Science, 17 (12), 1068-1074.

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Bob Whitesel (D.Min., Ph.D.) is a foresight coach, professor, and award-winning author of 14 books. For over 30 years, he has guided leaders and churches to pivot and engage what’s next. He holds two earned doctorates from Fuller Theological Seminary and teaches on leadership foresight, church health, and organizational change. His website is www.ChurchForesight.com. Learn More »

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