“We rise in power and make a difference in the world due to what is best about human nature, but we fall from power due to what is worst.” — Dacher Keltner
Researcher Dacher Keltner has compared the feeling of power to brain damage, noting that people with lots of authority tend to behave “like neurological patients with a damaged orbito-frontal lobe, a brain area that’s crucial for empathy and decision-making. Even the most virtuous people can be undone by the corner office.“
You’ve probably observed this for yourself: The nice person you used to know changed once they got a little power.