How to Cultivate Your “Personal Power” as a Leader artwork
HBR On Leadership

How to Cultivate Your “Personal Power” as a Leader

Jun 3, 2026 · 25 min

We all know the stereotypes of leaders who use charisma, manipulation, domineering behavior, or their status in the hierarchy to exert control. But there is another type of leader whose power isn’t necessarily related to their position on the org chart. Chris Lipp has spent years studying people who’ve developed this “personal power” that is rooted in their internal values. Lipp is a professor at…