MMany organizations claim to be horizontal and participatory but they keep opaque forms of power and don’t say where dissent is not prohibited but made risky: the power that denies itself can turn into a form of oppression capable of generating fear, self-censorship and adaptation. The article presents some keys of awareness to protect integrity, freedom of thought and space for individual choice.
Power at work, when democracy is a facade, what to do?
I work in one of those companies that define themselves as advancedwhere the “big boss” claims to “be at everyone’s service” and that power is shared and decisions are collective because everyone’s point of view is fundamental. But it’s all a fiction: the choices always come from above and from a very small group of faithfuldissent is absolutely not tolerated and those who express contrary opinions come slowly pushed to the margins or must manage opaque messages that invite you to “be careful”. No one openly assumes authority but everyone suffers and fears it. This ambiguity makes me feel unsureabsolutely not free to behave naturally because I always fear the consequences. I wonder: is it possible that denying power actually makes it more oppressive and dangerous? Louise
Monica Magri, work expert, responds
Dear Luisa, describe a common experience: an organization that declares itself horizontal and participatoryin which decisions are formally “shared” but substantially lowered from above, a context in which dissent is poorly tolerated and authority is never explicitly assumed. The sensation that comes from it it is certainly not freedom but confusionnot responsibility, but prudent adaptation. The question you ask is radical: denying power really makes it more equitable or, on the contrary, more difficult to recognize and manage?
You can at work when it is disguised as democracy can be even more oppressive. (Getty Images)
Power at work: asymmetry as a structural condition
Every organization is founded by its nature on asymmetries of power: asymmetries of roles, of responsibilities, of access to information, of possibilities of influence. This is not a system flaw but of its structural condition. The idea that an organization can be completely disempowered is one reassuring but not very honest fiction. The problem is not the existence of power, but how it is also treated symbolically and culturally.
The power that cannot be named: the consequences and the dangers
When power is not named, it forces people to continually interpret: understand what can be said, when, to whom, understand which topics are legitimate and which are dangerous, measure the language to avoid consequences that are not explicit but feared. It is in this space that psychological safety is underminednot because dissent is openly prohibited but because its cost becomes unpredictable.
Often power disguises itself as carefrom opportunities, from well-being, promises protection, visibility, recognition. And exactly while it seems to offer space, it narrows the boundaries with an implicit grammar that guides behaviors, relationships and professional identitieswithout ever declaring themselves openly.
The golden cage offered by hidden power
In these contexts authenticity is often celebrated as an organizational value but it is then practiced in a conditional way: you are authentic as long as you don’t botherconsolidated balances are not undermined, membership is not put at risk. But selective authenticity is a contradiction in terms. Become a mask, not even too sophisticated, functional to consensus rather than truth. Let’s remember that no one is immune to the manipulation of hidden powerIndeed, considering oneself immune is one of the most dangerous illusions. Manipulation it not only affects those who are fragile but above all those who want to belong because it acts on deep needs: to be seen, recognized, chosen. It can become a luminous cageprivileged, highly coveted. But in exchange for privilege, freedom is progressively renounced of speech and dissent. In some organizational cultures manipulation is not an accident but a structure where well-being is aestheticized, staged and trust is required regardless it is not built with consistency and concrete actions.
How to protect yourself from opaque power
When power is denied protection therefore does not pass through the illusion of neutrality or adaptation but avoiding internalizing the distortions. The biggest riskin fact, is not only to suffer the opaque power, but absorb its logicto the point of censoring themselves.
- Name internally what cannot be named externally
The first form of protection is cognitive: recognize asymmetry, even when the context denies itallows us not to confuse official language with lived reality. Give a name to what happens – control, exclusion, marginalization – the system does not immediately change but the internal position of the observer changes. Transform confusion into awareness and reduces individual guilt: the problem is not “I’m not authentic enough” but “authenticity has a cost here”.
- Distinguish responsibility from fault
In contexts of opaque power, responsibility tends to be diffused, While guilt is individualized. People end up feeling inadequate due to dynamics they don’t control. Protecting yourself means making a distinction clear: take responsibility for what is within your scope, without taking on the blame for choices, silences or inconsistencies that come from above. This distinction is fundamental to preserving professional and psychological integrity. Without it, opaque power colonizes identity.
- Building lateral alliances
Denied power isolates because it corrodes trust and protection therefore passes through the relationship. Building lateral alliancesreliable speaking spaces, not necessarily visible or formalised, allows us to compare readings of reality and avoid interpretative solitude. It’s not about coalitions against someone, but about communities of meaning. When multiple people recognize the same dynamics, power loses part of its invisible strength. It becomes less absolute because it is no longer experienced as an individual experience.
- Don’t mistake adaptation for maturity
One of the subtlest deceptions of opaque power it is to pass off adaptation as emotional competence and renunciation as organizational wisdom. Protecting yourself means rejecting this narrative. The ability to read the context must never become the normalization of the unspeakable. Professional maturity does not coincide with the renunciation of critical thinking but with the ability to handle complexity without losing one’s subjective position.
In conclusion
We have seen how mature leadership does not give up power indeed, he recognizes it, declares it, takes on the burden, accepts conflict as an integral part of the rolenot as a personal threat or relational failure.
When instead power is not declared, it is not fought head-on: you cross it with lucidity, integrity And relationships that hold. Protecting yourself does not mean leaving the organizational game, but refuse to let him inhabit your interiority.
In this sense, every act of awareness – even silent or invisible – is already a form of resistance. It doesn’t change the system immediately but prevents the system from becoming an identity.
The work therefore is not to adapt better to power but to learn to read it, to name it, to don’t confuse it with the whole reality. The decisive question is not how much power I have but how much interior space I preserve For choose who to be even when the context would like to decide for me.
Who is Monica Magri
I am an expert in the world of work and I have been observing its changes for over twenty-five years. I work in human resources, I am a coach and passionate about training and individual development: I love weaving together this knowledge to accompany people and organizations in understanding transformations, finding new meanings and moving through change with confidence and clarity.
Lexicon of the new work is a weekly question and answer space dedicated to those who want to orient themselves in a rapidly evolving world of work. Through key words, reflections and concrete cases, this column offers ideas for interpreting current challenges, discovering new meanings and training a more aware gaze on transformations. Knowing and decoding the new rules of work means knowing how to read the complexity, orient yourself clearly and act more effectively.
