“How Leaders Lose Mental Capacities—Most Notably For Reading Other People

1. Read “How Leaders Lose Mental Capacities—Most Notably For Reading Other People—That Were Essential to their Rise”
2. Answer the questions posed below:

• What is your reaction to this article?
• How does the author describe the now-former CEO of Wells Fargo reaction during the congressional hearing?
• What do you think Henry Adams means when he describes power as, “a sort of tumor that ends by killing the victim’s sympathies?”
• What did Dacher Keltner find in his research on subjects under the influence of power? What are your thoughts on this?
• What did Sukhvinder Obhi find in his research on brains under the influence of power? What are your thoughts on this?
• Why is mimicking important in social interaction?
• What is mirroring and why it important in social interaction?
• Why might the more powerful not need to use these skills? What is your reaction to this?
• What might those with power do to stop power’s tendency to affect the brain?
• What is the role of the “toe holder?” How might it be helpful to those with power?
• What is “hubris syndrome?” Can you think of any past or present leaders who may suffer or have suffered from hubris syndrome?

Sample Solution