New Research from Columbia Business School Shows How Power and Pressure Impact Performance

Entrepreneurs / 13th April 2017

People react to pressure-filled situations in different ways. For many, too much pressure can lead to abject failure. New research from Columbia Business School shows that your power in relationship to others can determine how you respond to the pressure of  high-stakes situations  and whether you will succeed or fail.

Take the example of a junior employee preparing for a big negotiation with a potential client, one that would be a big win for the company — clearly a high-pressure situation. An additional problem is that the client has more bargaining power because they have a lot of other companies they could choose. How will the junior employee’s  lack of negotiating power, in this high-pressure situation, affect their performance?

According to the study, the combination of  being less powerful  in a high pressure situation is particularly toxic and causes people to underperform. When the pressure is on, feeling powerful can help people rise to the occasion. But when one lacks power, the same pressure leads people to stumble in their performance.

So what is a low-power person to do in a high-pressure situation? The key is to tap into their sources of strength and convictions. This research also found that reflecting on one’s core values eliminated the performance problems caused by the combination of high stakes and low power.

Adam Galinsky, professor of management at Columbia Business School and co-author of the research, said, “Our research shows that building confidence by tapping into one’s values allows people to handle pressure even when they lack power, and as a result to perform well in high-pressure situations.”

Professor Galinsky recently discussed steps on how to become more confident and assertive wthout facing backlash when one lacks power during a TEDx Talk in New York City. The key steps discussed in the talk are:

  1. Advocate for others.
  2. Practice perspective-taking.
  3. Signal flexibility.
  4. Gain allies.
  5. Display expertise and show passion.

The video of his talk has nearly 3 million views and can be seen here:
https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_galinsky_how_to_speak_up_for_yourself

The study included three separate experiments that demonstrated how the effects of having power and feeling powerful or powerless affects performance and shows the effect gets magnified when the pressure is ratcheted up. The research, titled Power Affects Performance When the Pressure Is On: Evidence for Low-Power Threat and High-Power Lift,” was co-authored by Adam Galinsky, professor at Columbia Business School; Sonia K. Kang, professor at the University of Toronto; Laura J. Kray, professor at the University of California, Berkley; and Aiwa Shirako, professor at New York University.

To learn more about the cutting-edge research being conducted at Columbia Business School, please visit www.gsb.columbia.edu.

You May Also Like

“Less Admin, More Human”: JobAdder CEO Martin Herbst on Building AI-Powered Plans for Today’s Recruiters

Career Climbers / 23rd June 2025

CEO Magazine talks to Martin Herbst Founded in Sydney and now used by over 27,000 recruiters worldwide, JobAdder is making waves in the UK recruitment scene with its recruiter-first design,...

The $100,000/Year Drain: How Employee Turnover Is Costing Companies Big in 2025

Career Climbers / 16th June 2025

As the midpoint of 2025 approaches, many companies are not only focused on hiring but also preparing for a potential rise in employee turnover. According to a recent Express Employment...

CEO Magazine
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.