 What is the link between power and collaboration?
When we consider powerfulness and its implications to communities, we must also be prepared to look at the role played by a sense of powerlessness.
The Tamarack team started a conversation about the use and misuse of power in comprehensive community collaborations in this tele-learning seminar.
On this page, Kathleen Kevany, Director of Vibrant Communities, explores power and its importance in community collaborations.
 Kathleen Kevany recently joined Tamarack as the Director of Vibrant Communities. Before coming to Tamarack, Kathleen served as Director of Research and Education at the International Leadership & Stewardship Institute. She has worked in the government, private and voluntary sectors.
For 24 years, she has been a facilitator of community processes as a provincial government consultant, as the head of two cross-cultural non-profit organizations (London Cross Cultural Learner Centre and Brampton Multicultural Centre), as a university director and associate professor, and as a private consultant.
Kathleen holds a doctorate in education from OISE, where her research focused on citizen engagement and stewardship, and has completed post-doctoral work at the United Nations University in Tokyo.
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Power is the ability to get things done in the way we want them to go.
Our background and the way we choose to see our world helps to determine whether we see power as oppressive or liberating. Many have developed tremendous suspicions and cynicism of those who seek power and the sincerity of those who set out to help others.
Kathleen's studies have prompted her to examine the forms of privilege and oppression she experiences, and to what extent she has internalized the dominant cultural discourse. She has come to realize that she cannot abide or support anything that oppresses women or disempowers people. She also challenges herself to reconcile where in her life she has practiced oppression or disempowerment or have allowed herself to succumb to disempowerment.
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Collaborating for impact involves understanding how and what types of power help or hinder the inclusion of all members in a prosperous community. Examples abound within Vibrant Communities. For instance, the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative in Saint John is an illustration of how people who traditionally were left out of the efforts to address poverty, became part of an award winning initiative.
The NB Telegraph said it aptly, “Reducing poverty helps more than the once-poor – it helps economies, eases burdens on taxpayers and builds bonds and bridges throughout a community.” Find other examples of power in Vibrant Communities across Canada here.
For collaboration to be most effective, we need to understand our own power and that not everyone has equal access to power. Alvin Toffler prompts us to consider, "Do we seek equality in power and, if so, what types of equality?" Kathleen questions whether or not equality in power is reasonable to seek, but suggests a fairer distribution of and access to knowledge is the greatest power we can possess and the greatest power we can share.
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Very often our discomfort with power comes from our memories of punitive, coercive or threatening uses of power -- the use of power over us. We also learn early about the positive use of power over us, like rewards. But, power is not about manipulation. It is about understanding how to connect with the desired outcomes others are seeking. In other words, it is about finding ways to create win-win-win.
Through our networks, we can generate stronger links to others and increase our numbers. When we are card-carrying members of a organization, we experience power with. We gain privileges of membership and more power to achieve greater goals.
Cooperatives are an example of how power can shift. In their early days, cooperatives were not significant players, but today they are voice to be reckoned with. Their numbers of members and assets are mushrooming. This, in turn, gives them even more leveraging power.
If we consider power "with" to be bonding with others, then power through is about bridging. Bridging helps us think differently about who we engage with and how they can help move our agenda on. Almost everyone can help to move things along in some manner. Broadening the number of people we work through is worth the investment because it greatly increases our possibilities.
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By themselves, our gender, race and level of ability are only physical attributes or descriptions. Power comes into play when others use these characteristics to impose mistreatment, such as gender discrimination, racism or ageism or discrimination against people with disabilities.
Because of structural forms of power, like patriarchy, we have not all experienced equal access to opportunities for knowledge, wealth or to defend our rights. Linda Carli shared some thoughts on this topic when saying, “Several factors act as determinants of the amount of power a person holds or can use in his or her relations with others: status, resources, experience, and self-confidence. Males and females traditionally have had differing amounts of power at their disposal.”
Systems and structures can be liberating forces, and they can also be sources of oppression. Our task is to make sure the systems support the outcomes we’re after.
Remedies for Misuse of Power
We have a long track record of properly using power in social movements that rebalanced inequities. The role of community facilitators is to steer energy to the outcomes we desire.
Important questions to ask are, "What is the highest and best use of our time, treasure and talents?" and "Are we realizing our powers and our potential, individually and collectively?"
We can best inspire higher aspirations through the process of ETR - “Earn The Right” to influence - through being an inspiring example. Karl Albrecht summarizes this as, “Your ideas, your practical skills, your situational know-how, your concern for the well-being of others, and your willingness to give direction in leaderless situations all add up on an unconscious scorecard in the mind of each of the people involved.”
We usually don’t think about power until we feel it has been misused. When power is properly used, we aren’t concerned. We can choose to harness it or enjoy it. We can expand the grid of power.
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Social Influence and Social Power: Using Theory for Understanding Social Issues - Read a synopsis of Linda Carli’s article, “Gender, interpersonal power, and social influence” that reviews research on gender differences in power and their effect on social influence.
Gender and Poverty Project - In 2003-2004, Tamarack’s undertook the Gender and Poverty Project to provide support to Vibrant Communities initiatives to build their capacity to create inclusive communities through engagement in gender-related analysis, strategies, and action at the local and national levels. Explore the Project's description, tools and final report here.
Working Paper Series on Social Inclusion - Laidlaw Foundation has many resources that illuminate how power plays out with relation to different aspects of community. The resources were a result of their inclusive communities program.
Tools for Dismantling Structural Racism - The Aspen Institute maintains a directory of organizations and their tools for dismantling structural racism, categorized by type (analytic, educational, etc.), level (local, national, etc.) and domain (sector).
A Journey in Collaboration - Garry Loewen muses about power and community collaborations in his blog.
Social Intelligence: The New Science of Success - Karl Albrecht’s 2003 book Social Intelligence, the New Science of Success offers skill-building techniques to enhance your "social intelligence." Leaders who want to use power in a a climate of cooperation rather than of conflict may value his insights into patterns of social interaction, political acumen and connections with others. For brief reviews and to purchase this book, click here.
Power Shift - Alvin Toffler’s 1990 book Power Shift is a part of a trilogy beginning with Future Shock and Third Wave. Power Shift addresses trends at a micro level, examining how the composition of power changes, including the implications for the individual. For brief reviews and to purchase this book, click here.
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