Meet Our Model: Organizational Power Dynamics
Power is one of the most important cultural forces Cultivators contend with as they work to change their organizations. But, like all cultural forces, power is complex and often invisible. Luckily, social psychologists and researchers have thought about power dynamics in various contexts for a long time. We called on that body of work to create our Model of Organizational Power Dynamics (pictured above), which breaks down some of the ways power manifests in our organizations, including the forms of power we can all leverage to shift the culture of our organizations from the grassroots. The four types of power represented in the model are Power Over, Power To, Power With, and Power Within.
Power Over
Power Over is what most of us mean when we use the word "power." It shows up as any kind of authority over others, and it's exercised in a variety of ways, including individuals controlling what another can do, intimidation, domination, or even exerting influence over what others think they can do or how others view themselves. Some forms of Power Over are visible, like the formal rules, structures, and procedures that the powerful use to maintain control. Other forms are invisible, like the cultural norms that the powerful reinforce to draw boundaries around what is acceptable or possible for others.
Power To
Power To is the individual awareness that it is possible to act; this form of power grows as we go through the process of taking action, developing our skills and organizational knowledge, and realizing that we can effect change.
Power Within
Power Within describes the individual confidence, dignity, and self-esteem that comes from gaining awareness of our situation and experiencing the reality that we can do something about it.
Power With
Power With is the power we exercise together through collective action and includes both the psychological and political power that comes from uniting with others to redraw the boundaries of what's possible in our organizations.
When we talk about "empowerment" around here (which we do a lot), we're talking about how individuals can discover their power to act. But that's not the end of the process. Once we have that awareness of our individual power in a specific context, we have to develop the confidence to act (our power within) and our collective power with others to create lasting change.
So, how does all of this apply to the companies and organizations where we work? To begin to answer that question, think about a time when you tried to change something at work. Maybe you wanted to improve an overly convoluted process to save some time and aggravation. Perhaps you noticed that your company's product wasn't meeting the needs of a significant demographic, and you had an idea for how to fix that. Maybe the onboarding experience for new employees was nonexistent, and you wanted to help your new teammates make a smoother transition into their roles.
Whatever it was that you wanted to change, you almost certainly had to contend with others' power over you or the resources you needed to move your idea forward. How did that go?
Whether you've been successful in changing your organization for the better or not, both research and experience tell us that you've probably encountered at least one of the following barriers in the attempt:
Discrimination or retaliation
Intimidation or discouragement from people with more formal power than you
Seeing backlash against colleagues who have tried to change things in the past
Feeling powerless
Siloes that make it difficult to get to know colleagues who might support your cause
A strictly reinforced hierarchy that prevents interaction with higher levels of leadership or even with peers in other groups
Inexperience as a leader of change and lack of access to learning opportunities
Little control over how you use your time
Thick layers of bureaucracy and gatekeeping
Lack of transparency into the potential causes of the problem to be solved
Lack of organizational knowledge that could help you navigate to the people, information, or resources you need
Lack of trusted colleagues or supportive peer relationships
A culture of intense risk-aversion
Lack of adequate role models or mentors to learn from
Sound familiar?
People try to make their companies more equitable, effective, and innovative in a million other ways every day. But, according to sources like the International Society for Performance Improvement, many change initiatives are subject to failure. There are a lot of explanations for why that's the case, but we created the Model of Organizational Power Dynamics to address one of them:
It's much harder to fight an invisible monster than a monster you can see.
When your company's different forms of power become transparent to you, that knowledge automatically kickstarts your power to act. A picture and a set of definitions aren't the solutions to navigating organizational power dynamics. However, they provide a starting place for critically analyzing your organization's unique power structures and tendencies. From there, you can begin to cultivate the forms of individual and collective power necessary to address them head-on.
Unfortunately, due to critical issues like widespread discrimination & inequity, social dynamics around privilege, and the entrenched nature of hierarchical power structures, many contributors and managers face challenges that make cultivating power within and power with others at work feel like a fool's errand. That's why it's equally important for leaders in more formal positions of power over others to reduce the barriers by creating an environment that nurtures the 5 Dimensions of Empowerment.
Addressing these power dynamics from multiple directions is crucial because even though all individuals have the innate capacity for self-empowerment (there are usually a handful of folks in any company who are exceptionally motivated or privileged enough to influence change despite the status-quo-preserving power structures in their way), it just doesn't have to be so hard! The path to positive change becomes infinitely more accessible (and more populated with people who have great ideas) in organizations where leaders are willing to get out of the way and hand over the tools that enable others to reimagine what's possible and act to make it happen.
If the idea of shifting power down, sideways, and across your organization sounds like chaos to you, and you feel convinced that the only way to accomplish your company goals is to concentrate power over the people in the lower tiers of your hierarchy, get in touch with us. Find out what embracing new forms of power can do for your organization.
Share your ideas. Solve problems. Make a difference.
We’re building a community where your voice is heard, solutions are shared, and changemakers around the world can mobilize for change. If you are passionate about change, culture, and innovation, this is the place for you.
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