In a world where democratic and autocratic forces vie for power, one book emerges as a unique guiding light to help us understand what to require from leaders in these challenging times: The Shadow Side of Power: Lessons for Leaders (and Their Supporters). The book explores the nature of power and its appropriate use. With important elections looming, power is an important topic for those running for office as well as for all citizens who will soon endow the winners with the enormous powers of elected office.
By best-selling author Patricia McLagan, The Shadow Side of Power: Lesson for Leaders (and Their Supporters) delves into the intricacies of power as a tool that accompanies leadership roles in both business and government. The book opens our eyes, whether as leaders or followers, to the enormous responsibility leaders have to put the power of their offices to good use.
To make her points, the author takes the reader on a fictional journey with a newly appointed leader, Adderley. It is a journey that teaches what to do by showcasing what to avoid. There are seven lessons for all leaders and those who support them, but the lessons for political leaders and the electorate are especially poignant. As the book’s hero, Adderley, moves through seven circles of the Leadership Inferno, he meets caricatures of many public officials interred with business leaders who, like them, failed to use, misused, or abused the power that belonged to their role.
Although the book’s characters are fictional, McLagan draws on her decades of real-world experience in the political and business realms. She showcases leaders who both used their power wisely and who succumbed to the temptations that accompany power and authority, leading to detrimental consequences for both themselves and their institutions and constituencies.
Through storytelling, the book stresses the importance of self-awareness for leaders, urging them to be vigilant, continually reflecting on their motives and actions. Patricia’s political characters, like their business counterparts, recount how they failed to use, misused or abused their power. Some acknowledge that were unaware – ignorant – of their power obligations. Others recall, without remorse, how they turned to the dark side out of greed, fear, lack of courage, and pure love of the ability to subjugate others or bend institutions to their will. It becomes clear that being aware of the temptations that go with institutional power is the first step towards fulfilling the responsibilities of any office. The author provides a roadmap to help leaders navigate the treacherous terrain of power without succumbing to its darker allure. He does this through the stories of those condemned to the Inferno, conversations between Adderley and the condemned and Adderley and his guide. You are also privy to, and learn from, the main character’s internal dialogues as he processes what he sees in the Inferno.
The Shadow Side of Power: Lessons for Leaders (and Their Supporters) focuses on the dark side of power, but this helps showcase the light. At the book’s end, whether you are a leader in business or government, a voter or employee, you will emerge more aware of what you want to see in yourself and others as leaders. You will realize that many temptations to the dark side accompany positions of power. You will be more aware of these shadows when they appear in you as a leader or in the people you support. And you will more likely approach leadership roles as the character-exposing and character-developing experiences that they are.
As voters, your awareness of this shadow side of power can and should inform your votes. It is better to prevent shadow-directed behavior than to deal with it when it when leaders, appointed or elected, control the institutional mechanisms of power. In conclusion, The Shadow Side of Power: Lesson for Leaders (and Their Supporters, is a beacon of hope in a world grappling with leaders’ failures to use, misuses, and abuses of political and other power. Patricia McLagan’s insights will spur greater awareness and more principled actions, making this book an indispensable guide for leaders, policymakers, and citizens alike. Through self-awareness, empathy, and a commitment to transparent governance, the author envisions a future where leadership is not a source of exploitation but a force for positive change and a better future for all.