An obvious problem about leadership power is that it can be directed more toward self-serving behavior than the good of others including the organization and all stakeholders. A study conducted with working supervisors as well as a laboratory simulation investigated the influence of accountability on leader self-serving behavior. Accountability focused on the expectation that the leader may be called upon to justify his or her beliefs, feelings, and actions to others.

Self-serving behavior in the study focused on the distribution of resources, such as the leader receiving a disproportional share of cash bonuses. The major finding of the study was that powerful leaders who were held accountable acted less self-servingly than their nonaccountable counterparts. Another set of studies helps explain why some people who attain power act out of self-interest, whereas others with power act in the interest of others.

The influential (or moderating) variable studied was moral identity—the extent to which an individual holds morality as part of his or her self-concept. Trait power was measured both through a questionnaire about power, and subjective power was measured from study participants describing situations in which they experienced power. The study concluded that individuals with a strong moral identity were less likely to act in self-interest when they had strong trait power or subjective feelings of experiencing power.