There is so much we get wrong about power.
It’s not just how much power we have, but how we use it that determines how powerful we actually are. We all know what it looks like to use power badly. This book is about how to use power well.
We are more powerful than we believe.
This eye-opening book looks at the true nature of power explores who has it, what it looks like, and the role it plays in our lives. Grounded in more than two decades of scientific research and inspired by the popular class of the same name at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Acting with Power will change how you think about your own power, and everyone else’s. It can help you handle power better, in any role, on any stage.
You can act with power.
We all make choices about how to use the power that comes with our given circumstances. We aren’t always cast in the roles we desire or the ones we feel prepared to play. Some of us struggle to step up and be taken more seriously, while others have trouble standing back and ceding the spotlight.
Some of us are used to hearing we are too aggressive, while others are constantly being told we are too nice. Gruenfeld shows how we can all get more comfortable with power and learn to use power better by worrying less about the power we don’t have and spending more time acting responsibly with the power we already possess.
This book is about how to use power well.
We all know what it looks like to use power badly. When people have power but fear they are powerless, they act out of weakness, not strength. They are motivated to gain more power at any cost, without consideration for anyone else's outcomes. And it’s not just high-profile actors who exhibit these tendencies. To use power well, we all need to see power differently. Gruenfeld shows us how to get more comfortable with power by developing an actor’s mindset. Because power is not just a measure of self worth or a source of competitive advantage—power is a part you play in someone else’s story.
“Those of us who know Deb Gruenfeld have been dying to get our hands on this book, and it definitely does not disappoint. Acting with Power is an entertaining and uplifting read, filled with sharp insight (and) practical advice . . .”
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook,
author of Lean In and Option B
About the Author
Deborah Gruenfeld, Ph.D., the Joseph McDonald chaired professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, is a social and organizational psychologist who studies the psychology of power and powerlessness. The author of numerous scientific articles on power and group behavior, Gruenfeld’s most recent work explains when and why power corrupts, and shows that power affects a wide range of social and organizational behaviors, from the reasoning of Supreme Court judges, to perspective-taking and helping behavior, to objectification and sexual aggression. She is currently most intrigued by the effects of having power while feeling powerless, and by the related and surprisingly common preference for ranking second—not first—in social groups.
Professor Gruenfeld has taught courses on groups and power for more than 25 years. An innovator in the classroom, her course “Acting with Power” is a highly unusual collaboration between social scientists and professional actors that focuses on the leadership challenge of internalizing unfamiliar roles. The course began as an experiment ten years ago, has become one of the Stanford MBA program’s most popular electives, and inspired her forthcoming book, Acting with Power: Why We Are More Powerful Than We Believe (Currency/Penguin Random House, 2020).
Professor Gruenfeld does public speaking and consulting on power and leadership effectiveness for a variety of audiences around the world, including professional women, young company founders, and senior executives in large, multinational companies. She sits on the boards of theLeanIn.Org Foundation and the Stanford Center for the Advancement of Women’s Leadership.