It's possible to control those feelings a bit more, to be able to summon an extra surge of power and sense of well-being when it's needed
We can't be the alpha dog all of the time. Whatever our personality, most of us experience varying degrees of feeling in charge. Some situations take us down a notch while others build us up.
"The power poses paper came about in part because my coauthor Dana and I had noticed that women in our classes seemed to be participating less," says Cuddy, who teaches the MBA elective Power and Influence. "Some of the women exhibited body language associated with low power, so we wondered if that was in turn affecting how they feel," she adds, citing the "fake it till you make it" research that shows smiling can affect feelings and hormone levels.
This article was provided with permission from Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.