How Power & Authority Impact Well-Intentioned Church Leaders | An Interview with Brian Klaas

Brian Klaas is an expert on democracy, authoritarianism, US
Politics, Western foreign policy, political violence, and
elections. He has advised governments, US political campaigns,
international politicians, the European Union, NATO, and more.
Brian holds a doctorate in politics from the University of Oxford
and is an associate professor in Global Politics at University
College London. He is a regular commentator and political
consultant to an extensive lineup of international media outlets, a
Washington Post columnist, and the author of several books,
including Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us, a look
at what power is, who gets it, and what happens when they do.
Highlights 01:45 Brian tells about his background, work, and new
book. 05:45 Corruption in power 10:15 A lot of the time the wrong
people get into power because of their superficial charm. 12:45 The
importance of having the right people in power and the
consequential outcomes 14:25 Studies show that we choose leaders by
how they look. 16:00 Do we have biases, based on looks, in the
church when selecting leaders? 20:00 How can we pick the best
leaders without letting our natural human biases get in the way?
27:00 Brian’s overall message from his book is that there are
better and worse ways to select leaders. It takes a lot of self
reflection. 28:00 Systems matter a lot for how humans behave. Brian
explains why that matters. 29:40 As latter-day saints we are afraid
to challenge the system. 30:50 We don’t always have to destroy the
whole system but maybe tweak something small that could make a big
difference or be more effective. 34:50 Different types of power
hungry people; it isn’t always bad. There is a stigma in church
that people shouldn’t want high leadership roles and power. It’s
all about being humble. 40:30 Hungry to serve rather than power
hungry 43:45 Does having a position of power corrupt us? 48:15 Kurt
describes his experience as bishop in an inner city area that had
high need. He had to balance his empathy for these people but still
stay in control of the finances. 49:30 The goldilocks solution:
just the right amount of emotional distance. As leaders we have to
have a balance of empathy and pragmatism. 54:30 How do we deal with
corrupt leaders? Links Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It
Changes Us BrianPKlass.com Read the TRANSCRIPT of this podcast Get
14-day access to the Core Leader Library The Leading Saints Podcast
gets over 300,000 listens each month and has nearly 10 million
total downloads as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to
help latter-day saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and
listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org.
Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith,
John Bytheway, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Julie Beck, Brad
Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton,
Tad R. Callister, J. Devn Cornish, Dennis B. Neuenschwander,
Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair
Hodges, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, DeAnna Murphy, Michael
Goodman, Richard Ostler and many more in over 700 episodes.
Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events
related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders
quorum, Primary, youth leadership, stake leadership, ward mission,
ward council, young adults, ministering, and teaching.