Why do smart, capable leaders sometimes feel powerless even when they have significant authority?
In this episode of Grounded Engagement, Kristina Katayama speaks with Dr. Julie Diamond, founder of Diamond Leadership and author of Power, A User’s Guide, about the psychology of power, leadership, influence, and what happens when we confuse the power of our role with our own power.
Julie explores why leaders often focus more on the power they lack than the power they have, and how this can affect decision-making, relationships, team dynamics, and organizational culture.
In this conversation, they explore:
• Why leaders lead from the power they feel rather than the power they actually have
• The difference between positional power and personal power
• The overlooked power of experience, expertise, belonging, and relationships
• The three traps of power leaders need to recognize
• Why people often see a leader’s role before they see the person
• Why authenticity and emotional intelligence, while important, aren't enough on their own
• How power can create blind spots and disconnect leaders from the impact they're having
• Why leadership requires restraint, self-regulation, and knowing when to step back
• How leaders can unintentionally micromanage while believing they're helping
• How to develop influence without formal authority
• Why feedback becomes harder to receive as you gain power
• What power and leadership look like as AI rapidly changes organizations and society
Julie also shares stories from her coaching work that reveal how good intentions can have very different effects when you're operating from a position of power.
At its heart, this conversation asks a fundamental leadership question:
How do we recognize and use the power we have without losing ourselves in the role?
Whether you're a CEO, executive, manager, emerging leader, or someone trying to create change without formal authority, this episode offers a deeper perspective on leadership, power dynamics, influence, agency, and organizational life.
Grounded Engagement explores what it means to lead with greater awareness, humanity, and effectiveness.
Connect with Julie Diamond on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliediamond5331/
If this conversation stayed with you, share it with a leader in your life. That's how this work travels.
I hope you enjoy this episode! Give it a like, share, and subscribe to not miss the content coming your way weekly.
– Kristina and the Grounded Engagement podcast team
Connect with Kristina Katayama on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kristina-katayama-029834
Visit the Be Possible website: bepossible.com
Listen to Grounded Engagement on these podcast platforms:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033t4qPBxizCWyIisE77pC
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grounded-engagement/id1896884338
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9f6697fa-3ece-4e35-9588-5be82ace196d
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Grounded Engagement: Liberating Leadership is a podcast for leaders who know that real change goes deeper than tools, frameworks, and training programmes. Hosted by Kristina Katayama, founder of Be Possible and a whole systems change consultant with over 25 years of experience across 30+ countries, each episode is a genuine conversation with leaders navigating the hardest parts of organisational life — culture gaps, leadership transitions, equity work that stalls, and the tension between who an organisation says it is and what people actually experience every day.
Kristina brings a rare combination of cross-sector pattern recognition, relational depth, and a belief that transformation starts with how people relate to each other — not with the next initiative or intervention. Her guests are the leaders doing that work in real organisations, in real time.
If you lead a team, a department, or an entire organisation and you're ready for honest conversation about what it actually takes to build a culture of belonging and vitality, this show is for you.