When Power Thinks No One Is Watching (Part 2)

IN PART ONE of this series, I reflected on a school yard moment from the 1980s, a child pinching another who could not speak, assuming silence meant safety. What unsettled me then was not only the act, but the assumption behind it: that the absence of voice meant the absence of consequence. Today, we turn the mirror toward the other side of that moment. The one who did the pinching.

Children test boundaries.

That is part of growth. But adults do something far more dangerous, they test power. Not always dramatically. Not always maliciously. Often subtly. Incrementally.

With just enough deniability to feel safe.

In leadership spaces, this testing shows up as decisions made without consultation because “no one will question it.” It appears in favour extended quietly, standards bent selectively, or opportunities rationed based on comfort rather than competence. It shows up in how some people are spoken to when they cannot defend themselves, and how others are deferred to because they can. Power reveals character most clearly when it believes it is unobserved.

There is a quiet temptation that accompanies authority, the belief that proximity to decision-making grants immunity from consequence. That influence shields action. That title outweighs testimony. And when no immediate pushback comes, the temptation grows. After all, nothing happened.

Or so it seems.

The playground lesson was simple: the instigator assumed the child would not react. The mistake was not merely the pinch. It was the presumption.The presumption that silence equals incapacity. That vulnerability equals invisibility. In adulthood, that presumption becomes more sophisticated, but no less flawed.

Some leaders assume junior staff will not remember who deflected responsibility when decisions faltered. That those with limited options will forget when entitlements were delayed or dismissed because they lacked leverage. That individuals who stood firm under pressure will quietly disappear after being labelled “difficult” for refusing to bend. That the voices once sidelined will never one day sit at the table where policy is shaped or hold the microphone when narratives are told.

But time reshuffles positions. The quiet employee becomes the senior manager.

The intern becomes the director. The overlooked candidate becomes the policymaker. And the culture they inherit is the culture they remember.This is where accountability often surprises people. Not because justice is dramatic, but because memory is long.

Leadership is not only about what is done publicly; it is about what is normalised privately.

When small abuses of power go unchecked, when favouritism becomes habit, when intimidation becomes tone, when dismissal becomes reflex, an organisation begins to build on unstable ground.

And yet, many who test power do not see themselves as exploitative. They see themselves as pragmatic.

Efficient. Protective of the system. They rationalise decisions as necessary.

They interpret silence as agreement. But silence is not endorsement. It is often calculation.

The most dangerous environment in any organisation is not one where people shout. It is one where people stop speaking altogether.

Where they comply externally while disengaging internally. Where they learn that pushing back is costly, and so they conserve their energy for survival rather than contribution.When power becomes accustomed to this quiet, it begins to mistake it for loyalty. That is a costly error, because suppressed voices do not disappear, they reposition. Disengagement does not stabilise systems, it slowly drains them. And those who feel underestimated rarely forget how they were treated when they lacked influence.

The school yard lesson was not about retaliation; it was about revelation.

The child who was pinched was not powerless, only misjudged. The instigator learned quickly that assumptions can collapse in a single moment. In professional spaces, the collapse is rarely immediate. It may take years. It may come through performance decline, reputational damage, leadership transition, or cultural audit. But it comes.

And when it does, leaders often ask, “How did we not see this?” The answer is usually uncomfortable. Because power believed no one was watching. This mirror is not a threat. It is a caution.

If you hold authority, ask yourself: How do you behave when no one is expected to challenge you? Do you make decisions you would defend openly, or only privately?

Do you treat the quiet ones with the same dignity as the influential ones?

And perhaps most importantly: If positions were reversed tomorrow, would you be comfortable with the memory you leave behind? Power is not dangerous because it exists. It is dangerous when it assumes permanence.The child in the playground learned that silence can erupt without warning. Leaders would do well to remember the same.

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