Brown Girl Empowered
Welcome to Brown Girl Empowered the self-help podcast that blends insightful guidance with real-life stories, hosted by Manpreet Dhaliwal, a Brown South Asian psychotherapist with a passion for helping you thrive. In each episode, Manpreet dives deep into powerful topics like mental health, breakups, self-love, confidence, leadership, and more, offering practical tools and heartfelt advice to empower you on your personal growth journey.
Whether she’s sharing her expertise solo or featuring inspiring guests, Manpreet’s mission is to help you break free from limiting beliefs and step into your true power. With her warm, relatable style and years of experience as a therapist and educator, Manpreet is here to guide you towards a life of authenticity, resilience, and self-compassion.
Tune in, transform your mindset, and unlock the best version of yourself with Brown Girl Empowered.
About Manpreet Dhaliwal:
Manpreet is a brown woman who holds a Master’s in Social Work and a Bachelor of Arts. With years of experience, she’s dedicated to making mental health resources accessible and relatable for all.
Manpreet Dhaliwal has worked as a therapist for many years and has served as a college instructor in British Columbia.
Instagram: ManpreetDhaliwal.88
Email: dhaliwalcounselling@gmail.com
Psychotherapy Services: www.dhaliwalcounselling.com
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Brown Girl Empowered
When Power Corrupts: How Leaders Can Avoid Falling into the Trap
Can power truly corrupt even the most virtuous among us? Discover how the power paradox can lead ethical leaders down a path of corruption. We'll uncover the psychological state of invincibility and reward hunger that power can instigate, and why no one is safe from its grasp. By engaging in self-awareness and constant reflection, leaders can resist these temptations and maintain their moral compass. Explore the dynamics that transform well-intentioned leaders into figures of unethical behavior, and learn the critical steps needed to safeguard against power's intoxicating influence.
Shifting our focus, we highlight mindfulness as a powerful tool in the quest for ethical leadership. By drawing lessons from "The Lord of the Rings," we reflect on the universal vulnerability to power's seduction and the importance of self-reflection. Emphasizing the qualities that should define true leadership—generosity, empathy, and gratitude—helps ground leaders in what truly matters. With practical insights on harnessing emotional awareness, this episode empowers leaders to recognize and neutralize the subtle shifts that power can cause. Join us as we offer a roadmap for maintaining integrity amidst influence, urging listeners to reflect on their own paths and responsibilities.
Instagram: @manpreetdhaliwal.88
Emails, questions:
Dhaliwalcounselling@gmail.com
Services: www.dhaliwalcounselling.com
Psychology Today Profile:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists/manpreet-dhaliwal-surrey-bc/332001
How do you handle power? Does power corrupt? So many questions for leaders who lead, those who hold many resources and those who have a level of privilege teaching or shaping others, or if you have access to important resources or information, you probably thought about how power affects you. It is crucial to understand the impact of power, especially when you have that kind of influence. If you're in a position of power, you will have many different resources that you can use for your benefit. Just think about it. You may be able to, with your resources, be able to get yourself out of trouble. You may be able to buy yourself out of trouble. For example, you might be able to hire the best lawyers. You might be able to bail yourself out of trouble financially. You may be able to use social connections to get yourself out of trouble. So, basically, you might be able to also throw money at a problem to make it go away. This is where things get tricky With access to abundant resources and with influence and access to social connections, because there can also be social power. It's easy for power to lead you down to a path of corruption. Power tends to corrupt. It may be hard to believe that power will be able to corrupt you, to even imagine that you might be able to act in inhumane, unethical ways. Such a thought may be scary. You might be saying no, not me, I could never. But we see themes of power being able to corrupt. We've seen it in books, movies and we have recognized it in research. Still be arguing that power won't be able to corrupt you, perhaps based on your humble beginnings or the way you intend to achieve power, maybe through communal traits or even your goals in doing good for humanity. Yet the research shows that even your humble beginnings won't protect you from the allure of power. This, once again, can be a scary thought, but we can explain it using the power paradox.
Speaker 1:The power paradox explains the pattern in which individuals gain power through traits and actions that push forward the interests of others. Individuals who get into positions of power initially, at the start, display positive qualities such as empathy, collaboration, openness, fairness and sharing. However, although they get power through these positive communal qualities, these individuals, when they start to feel powerful or start to enjoy a position of privilege, these same individuals who got power through these positive communal qualities will be more likely than other individuals to engage in rude, selfish and unethical behavior. Suddenly, they're more likely to behave in unethical ways. So it really doesn't matter what may bring you to a position of power. It doesn't matter if you come from humble beginnings or what beginnings bring you into the power position. Power can corrupt those from the humblest beginnings. In fact, individuals often start with communal positive qualities. However, as they move up in the position of the power hierarchy, their behaviors often get worse. This all has damaging impacts on whatever organization, corporation, business or company or institution that the individual finds themselves in. Individual finds themselves in. This worsening behavior creates stress and anxiety in the individuals that the individual works with, reduces creativity in group members and decreases team members engagement and performance. So, because power creates all this negative, it creates negative consequences in individuals and negative you know outcomes for teams.
Speaker 1:You might be wondering how can you keep power and not let it corrupt you, because we know that power can corrupt anyone. So that is the big question how do you keep power and how do you ensure that it does not corrupt you? Because, as we know, power can corrupt anyone. So, first of all, I believe that you need to have a level of awareness of the power you hold. Power can be held at any organization. As a business holder, you hold a level of power over your employees, as you are responsible for your salary and work performance reviews. If you're an instructor, you hold power in the fact that you control the marks of the students. So you can understand that power can be held at a school, at an organization, at a company, at an institution, anywhere power can be found. Anywhere power can be found. But if you forget your position of power, you risk blindly acting in a way that harms other individuals. So a level of greater self-awareness is important.
Speaker 1:The first step to ensure that power does not corrupt you is also your awareness of your own feelings related to power. You need to be aware of the feelings that are connected to the newfound power you have and the ways that these feelings are changing your behavior. Research shows that the power it's actually interesting in that it shows that power creates this kind of manic state in all human beings, leading individuals in this manic state to feel energized, to feel invincible, to feel hungry for rewards and to feel immune to risk. This manic state and these feelings lead individuals to act in a rude and unethical manner. So how do you once again ensure that power doesn't corrupt you, even though it may lead to a manic state within you, new studies in neuroscience suggest that reflecting on those thoughts of invincibility and those power-related emotions can engage regions of the frontal lobe of the brain, that these regions that ensure that our worst impulses are kept in line and not acted upon. So when you recognize and label feelings, such as feelings of confidence, and recognize those feelings, label those feelings, maybe write those feelings out or say those feelings out loud, you are less likely to make decisions inspired by these feelings. Similarly, if you're feeling frustrated and you acknowledge and reflect mindfully on that frustration without getting overtaken by it, you are less likely to engage in a confrontational manner If you are in a position of power.
Speaker 1:To ensure that you do not fall in the power paradox, it is important to routinely reflect on your actions. Ask yourself are you interrupting others? Are you taking credit for a work that is not yours? Are you telling stories that humiliate or embarrass someone? Are you telling stories that humiliate or embarrass someone? And so ask yourself these questions what are the behaviors, what are the actions that you're engaging in? Another very important approach to combat the power paradox is to remind yourself of the positive qualities that you exhibited that got you in the position of power in the first place. Remember these behaviors or qualities routinely and work to behave in a similar way to ensure that you do not fall in the trap of the power paradox.
Speaker 1:Work to continuously practice empathy, gratitude and generosity. These three big qualities allow for leaders to remain and sustain their positions of power. When teams are understanding of each other, have high levels of engagement, concern and interest for another, the team can more effectively handle and respond to analytical problems. Second, gratitude is also powerful problems. Second, gratitude is also powerful. You might be able to remember how good it felt when your boss showed gratitude for your input or work at the corporation or organization or institution or the business you are working at. Research, in fact, has found that when managers take their time to thank employees, that employees are more engaged and productive. Similarly, another study on NBA teams found that players who physically displayed appreciation through bear hugs, chest bumps, inspired other players to play better and, as a result, they went on to win nearly two more games per season.
Speaker 1:Generosity also helps. Generosity may be when individuals help others by sharing new ideas, helping others on projects that others have not taken on. All these actions lead individuals to identify the person to be more deserving of respect. So how can one practice these very important qualities?
Speaker 1:To practice empathy, ask questions that suggest you want to really know the person you're speaking, to Paraphrase what the other person is telling you. To show the other person that you have really been listening to them. Listen by orienting your body and eyes towards the person. To show you are really in tune with the person and that you are present in that time and space and that you are really listening that time and space and that you are really listening. Show interest through the tone of your voice and your body language. And, secondly, don't be afraid to apologize. It's okay to apologize, to be sorry, instead of jumping to judge the other individual. If a person comes to you with a problem, don't be afraid to express your sorry for what they're going through, for that problem that they're facing. And, once again, don't be quick to judge or to give advice. And really get to know the human being underneath the employee or the co-worker or the person you're leading. Prior to meeting the other individual, try to think of the individual person you will be meeting. Who are they really? What might the other person be going through in their personal life. See them as more than just an employee. See them as a human being.
Speaker 1:In order to practice gratitude, incorporate thoughtful thank yous in your everyday practice, wherever you find yourself. Send thank you notes, get into the habit of doing this Publicly, acknowledge the value that others bring and the contributions of others. And in order to practice gratitude, also celebrate successes by fist bumps. High fives by fist bumps, high fives actually using touch in a way that the other person feels comfortable with. To be generous. Spend time with the persons you lead. Give important and high profile tasks to those you do lead. Give praise openly and without fear, and without thinking that praise is scarce. Give it openly and share the stage with others. Don't forget to give credit and allow those you lead to walk up on the stage with you.
Speaker 1:Remember power corrupts.
Speaker 1:Remember power corrupts and, as scary as it may seem, when thinking about the fact that power has the potential to corrupt anybody, including you, it also is important to remember that you can take certain steps to ensure that it does not corrupt you.
Speaker 1:To ensure that it does not corrupt you If you hold a level of privilege in your life, chances are you will also hold a level of power.
Speaker 1:To hold power and to lead in a humane, responsible, ethical manner, you will need to engage in a lot of self-reflection, in a lot of mindfulness of emotions and feelings that you may have in relation to the power, and you will need to engage in a lot of this reflection to ensure that you are not corrupted by the power.
Speaker 1:As scary as it may seem, the ring in the Lord of the Rings, at the end of the day, has the power to corrupt anyone. We are in this all together, but it is our own individual responsibility to ensure that, no matter where we find ourselves in, that power does not corrupt us. And no excuses, because we have discussed so many ways to ensure that the power we may hold is kept in check. So, lead with generosity, lead with empathy, lead with empathy, lead with gratitude, and be mindful of the emotions that you are experiencing related to the newfound feelings of power, and also remember what got you in the position of power in the first place. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review, please follow this podcast and I hope to see you on the next podcast episode. Take care.
