The administration of government, like a guardianship, ought to be directed to the good of those who confer and not of those who receive the trust.

Any authority handed to you is held on behalf of the people who handed it over. That holds for running a country and running a team of four, and the test is identical: when interests diverge, whose comfort gives way. Power quietly rearranges itself around whoever holds it unless it is deliberately pointed elsewhere. Most abuses begin as small conveniences rather than as plots.

If you are in charge of anything, name who the arrangement is actually for and check one recent decision against it. Look for choices that were easier for you and worse for them. Fixing a small one now is cheaper than the habit it would become.