The Power Compass

Dr Steve Vinay Gunther & Dr Paul Donovan

Weilding authority can be exhilarating; it can also become a Danger Zone where honest feedback vanishes and sensibility gives way to excess—a risk for every manager, parent, or leader. Hosted by Drs. Paul Donovan and Steve Vinay Gunther, The Power Compass is your ‘Driver’s Ed’ for the responsibile use of influence. Master the Art of Power by balancing strength with heart. Outsmart the traps of the Power Paradox, build your 11-source Power Battery, and map your unique Powerprint. Shift from ‘power-over' to generative ‘power-with’, and learn to lead with wisdom in the Power Zone.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    The Real Sources of Power Hiding Inside Every Organization

    • Key sources of power: role, resource, information, network, reputation • Why underusing your role power creates a dangerous vacuum • Resource power: budgets, access, and the choices we forget we have • Information power and the psychology of gossip • Network power and the story of a 25,000-person walkout • Reputation power and the rise of cancel culture Drs. Vinay and Paul map five organisational sources of power: role power (the built-in authority of a position, and the real danger of under-using it), resource power (budgets, access, and the things we control but forget we can withhold), information power, network/collective power, and reputation power. Through case studies of overwhelmed managers, permissive parents, and a real-world employee walkout, they argue that power isn't just misused by being heavy-handed — leaving a power vacuum by refusing to use legitimate authority causes just as much damage.

    The Real Sources of Power Hiding Inside Every Organization

  2. Aug 14

    The 150% Principle: Why Leaders Must Carry More Than Half the Responsibility

    • What ‘taking responsibility’ really means for anyone with more rank • Why leaders are the worst judges of their own impact • The difference between intent and impact — and why it matters • Real coaching examples: the pausing leader and the “ideas person” CEO • AGALA: a five-step framework for repairing ruptures • Why ‘two consenting adults’ ignores real power gaps • How this principle applies beyond the workplace, including parenting Dr. Vinay and Dr. Paul unpack the ‘150% Principle’: in any relationship with a power differential — boss/employee, teacher/student, parent/child — the person with more rank doesn't just share equal responsibility for the relationship, they carry more of it. Drawing on coaching case studies (a leader whose ponderous pauses bred anxious speculation, a CEO whose brainstorming was mistaken for orders), they explore why those in power are structurally the worst judges of their own impact, and why asking for feedback — not just accepting it — is a discipline of leadership, not an optional nicety. They introduce AGALA, a five-step framework for repairing ruptures (Acknowledge, name the Gap between intent and impact, Apologise, share the Learning, Ask what's missing), and close by extending the principle beyond the boardroom — to parenting, and to why "two consenting adults" is a myth when a real power gap exists between them.

    The 150% Principle: Why Leaders Must Carry More Than Half the Responsibility

  3. Aug 7

    The Power Battery: Where Does Personal Power Come From?

    • The five internal sources of personal power: knowledge, expressiveness, history, attraction, character • Why knowledge is more democratised than ever — podcasts, free courses, and AI • How expressiveness helps you find your voice, and other people's • The double-edged power of relationship history • Building rapport and attraction even without natural charisma • Why character and consistency earn long-term trust • A real story of blended-family cooperation in action Dr. Vinay and Dr. Paul explore where personal power actually comes from — not the power handed to you by a title, but the power you build from within. Using the metaphor of a ‘power battery’, they break down five internal sources: knowledge (increasingly democratised by podcasts, free courses, and AI), expressiveness (the ability to give voice to what others can't yet articulate), history (the accumulated weight of long relationships, for better or worse), attraction (the rapport that draws people toward you, whether natural or built), and character (the consistency and honesty that earns trust over time). Drawing on stories from coaching, therapy, and their own personal lives — including a moving example of blended-family cooperation — they make the case that most of us outsource our sense of power to circumstance, when in fact the biggest lever is the one we can charge up ourselves.

    The Power Battery: Where Does Personal Power Come From?

  4. Jul 31

    Introduction to all Things Power: Why We Avoid Talking About Power | The Psychology of Leadership and Influence

    • Why power is often called “the last taboo” • Power over, power with, and power to — three core dynamics explained • Personal power vs. role power vs. social status power • A first look at the power paradox and why leaders get stranger as they rise • Introducing the 150% principle for high-rank relationships • Real-world examples from couples therapy and a corporate power struggle • The mission behind The Power Compass podcast In the opening episode of the Power Compass podcast, Drs. Vinay and Paul explain why they're devoting a whole series to power — a topic they argue is harder to talk about than sex, precisely because most of us first experience it as something used against us. They introduce the foundational distinctions the series will return to again and again: power over, power with, and power to; personal power versus role power versus social status power; and give a first preview of two ideas explored later in depth, the power paradox (how gaining rank quietly erodes empathy and self-awareness) and the 150% principle (why those with more rank carry disproportionate responsibility for a relationship's health). Using examples from couples therapy, a corporate team caught between formal and informal authority, and their own coaching work, they lay out their mission: to make the normally invisible dynamics of power visible, so people can wield it — over others, with others, and toward a purpose — more consciously and skilfully.

    Introduction to all Things Power: Why We Avoid Talking About Power | The Psychology of Leadership and Influence
  • 4 Episodes

About

Weilding authority can be exhilarating; it can also become a Danger Zone where honest feedback vanishes and sensibility gives way to excess—a risk for every manager, parent, or leader. Hosted by Drs. Paul Donovan and Steve Vinay Gunther, The Power Compass is your ‘Driver’s Ed’ for the responsibile use of influence. Master the Art of Power by balancing strength with heart. Outsmart the traps of the Power Paradox, build your 11-source Power Battery, and map your unique Powerprint. Shift from ‘power-over' to generative ‘power-with’, and learn to lead with wisdom in the Power Zone.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Steve Vinay Gunther & Dr Paul Donovan
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Steve Vinay Gunther
  • Show Website
    The Power Compass