You Don’t Show Power By Using It
From the NHL to the business world, the strongest leaders are the ones who don’t have to remind you who’s in charge.
Those who have real power rarely need to flaunt it. It’s like the VIP list at a club: if you have to try and convince the bouncer why you should be on the VIP list, you’re definitely not a VIP. Or think about that boss you once had who was always threatening to fire people. Think about a leader who seems to take pleasure in firing people. Think about anyone who has ever used the phrase “because I said so” or “because I’m in charge and what I say goes.” A good CEO doesn’t feel the need to tell those around them they’re the CEO. The effective ones just let their work speak for themselves.
There is a tendency among people who aren’t used to having power (or people that are incredibly insecure) to try and show off their power in the most obscene ways possible. Telling people how powerful you are, and even utilizing that power, is not effective, especially if you want to craft the perception of a strong leader. If you run a company, everyone in the company inherently knows that you can fire people. So what good does it do to remind those around you regularly that you have this ability? It might work once, but after you utilize that strategy a few more times, you’re just a vindictive jerk.
Instead, the best show of power is not to use it – especially when people know that you could.
Let’s dive into the sports world for a great example. With the new hockey season among us, this situation came up a few times as some very large contracts were signed between teams and their superstars. It made me double down on this opinion that power is best utilized when it is not utilized at all.
In the last few weeks, two NHL superstars signed enormous contracts to stay with their existing teams. A brief background for those who don’t follow hockey: the league has a salary cap, and the most a player can make is 20 percent of the cap, which for this coming season is just over $19 million. No player has ever signed for 20 percent of the cap ever since it was implemented in 2005. The highest-paid player for the 2024-25 season made just $14 million.1
So, it was pretty shocking when Kirill Kaprizov, the Minnesota Wild’s top player and one of the best players in the world, reportedly rejected a contract extension that would pay him $16 million per season. Fans and media debated whether that meant Kaprizov wanted to leave Minnesota, or if he just wanted to be paid more. That argument was settled days later, when he signed an eight-year extension worth $17 million per season, the largest salary in NHL history (and by far the largest salary in the post-2005 cap era). Kaprizov had the power to name his price – and he did, bending Minnesota’s management over a barrel, since their option was essentially: pay up or lose the type of player that you may not come across for another generation.
That contract then jump-started another discussion, this one about Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, generally agreed to be the best player in the world and perhaps one of the best to ever play the game. Entering the last year of his current contract, he has been eligible to sign an extension since July 1, yet had not done so. People were clamoring over how much money he would ask for. The discussion was pretty much identical across the hockey world: McDavid could ask for 20 percent of the cap – the maximum salary – and Edmonton would have no choice but to pay it. No one wants to risk losing a player of his caliber. The only question was, what salary would he demand?
Everyone knew that McDavid, at that moment, was the most powerful person in the hockey world. He could literally name his price. So what did he do?
He asked the Oilers for no raise at all. Just a few days ago, he signed a two-year contract extension that pays him $12.5 million per season, the same salary he has made since 2018. McDavid will be the fifth-highest paid player in the NHL next year – and the second-highest paid player on his own team.
And what was the general reaction from the hockey world? Pretty much wonder and amazement. It was no secret that he could have demanded $19 million and received it with no argument. Yet, he chose to keep his salary the same. Now, we mortals can argue about whether or not there is a legitimate difference between making $12.5 million and making $19 million – rich is rich. But in a cutthroat world – the sports business world – most people don’t look to be “nice.” They want to win, they want to max out their earnings, and they want to be the best.
Take a similar example from a year ago. Sidney Crosby, the 38-year-old captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was in negotiations for a small contract extension to get him to the end of his illustrious career. That career includes: three Stanley Cups, Olympic Gold Medals, perhaps the best player of his generation, and arguably one of the top five players of all-time. So what did he demand in this new contract?
$8.7 million per year over two years.
That’s it. He also could have asked for the moon and received it. Instead, he kept his pay at the same rate it’s been since 2008, when he was 21 years old. This season, Crosby will be the 46th-highest paid player in the league. It’s wild to think there are even five players who would be more desired this season, let alone 45. Yet, Crosby didn’t feel the need to demand the max.
Just like McDavid, Crosby had the power to name his price. And he essentially chose not to. McDavid didn’t need to take the max. Everyone already knew he could. Players may choose to take a lower salary for a multitude of reasons, but chief among them is to give their team the ability to use that excess money to sign other good players. A sport with a hard salary cap is a zero-sum game – every dollar given to one person is a dollar less you have to give to someone else. McDavid and Crosby are telling their bosses, their teammates, and their fans that they want to use their power for the benefit of their team, rather than for their own personal gain.
The supply of superstar hockey players is light, which generally makes the demand high, which makes the pay rate high. But Kaprizov chose to follow that economic curve, while McDavid and Crosby chose to parlay their power in a different way. Don’t get me wrong – any player has the right to demand a market rate for their services. I harbor no feelings of ill-will toward Kaprizov. He wanted to max out his pay, and he has earned the right to do that.
But after the dust has settled on these deals, the ones that hockey fans and media continue to be in awe of are those that Crosby and McDavid signed. Everyone agrees: they had the power, and chose not to utilize it. In a way, that makes them even more powerful – the fact that the entire world, including their employers, understands this.
This same dynamic plays out in the business world each day. Leaders who constantly remind everyone they’re in charge may command obedience, but they don’t command loyalty or respect. Those who hold power, but choose not to yield it, command both.
There’s a quote from House of Cards that I always remembered in business. I’m paraphrasing here, but it’s when the main character is talking about courage. He says that anyone can run their mouth and yell and scream. But what takes real courage is keeping your mouth shut, holding it together when the stakes are high. I often think about that. Sometimes, even when you want to tell someone off or get in someone’s face, the more powerful thing to do is say nothing.
I find the same with power, especially when you’re in a position of business leadership. Everyone knows you have power, just by the nature of your position. What makes the power even more awe-inspiring, is when you choose not to use it. In business, as in sports, the most powerful people are the ones who never have to remind you that they are.
Yes, I’m drastically simplifying cap math for readability. No angry emails about cash versus AAV versus signing bonus from you hockey fans.