Roxanne, I've found some interesting perspectives from Mary Parker
Follett's writings about the issues brought forth by this web. I suspect
(and I'm reaching now) that she might apply her definitions of
"power-with" and "power-over" to the sense of cooperation and competition
in organizational settings. Indeed, she specifically mentioned that
Ghandi used "power-over" in his relationship with the British government's
his goal was to rid the Indian continent of British rule entirely. In
this case, it was strength through civil disobedience that provided his
source of power, despite his military weakness. Without the press, and
ensuing world (and domestic) political brouhaha which occurred, he would
not have been so effective in the war he waged on the British.
This isn't to denigrate your sense of purpose as an overriding factor in
why/how people perform. I agree entirely with your point concerning
purpose. I am proposing, though, that relationships are frequently
determined by the way in which we decide to use personal, positional and
political power.
Doc
-- "There are petty-minded people who cannot endure to be reminded of their ignorance because, since they are usually quite blind to all things, quite foolish, and quite ignorant, they never question anything, and are persuaded that they see clearly what in fact they never see at all, save through the darkness of their own dispositions." -Marquise de SabliThresholds--developing critical skills for living organizations Richard C. "Doc" Holloway Olympia, WA Please visit our new website, still at <http://www.thresholds.com/> <mailto:learnshops@thresholds.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>