thanks for your response. I don't have much to change or add to what we
exchanged, but thought it might be useful to clarify a few thoughts, and
perhaps inquire into a couple of your points--
> Power might be defined as the ability to resolve conflicts of interest.
> With this definition I feel in line with Gareth Morgan and Aristoteles.
I can certainly see the validity of this definition, though it seems a
corollary or subset of the one I quoted. That is, assuming that the
process of resolving is a causal one. Your definition appears just a
little more limiting. Follett uses an example of a husband rustling his
newspaper at the breakfast table in order to irritate his wife. He has
the power (the ability to make things happen) to irritate his wife,
because he knows that rustling the newspaper will accomplish this. He
hasn't engaged in resolving a conflict of interest. Babies very quickly
learn about their power to initiate change or make things happen in a
doting household.
> There are several sources of power, i.e. authority, knowledge, relations,
> various kinds of control, personal mastery. Thus "power is derived from
> authority" makes sense to me and I have difficulties to sort in "If they
> only knew that all authority is derived, instead, from power."
Winnfried, how does power derive from authority (the question being, where
does authority come from?)? The sources of power that you mention are
elements of a personal capacity that has been developed (expertise,
relationships) which becomes a source of power. The search for personal
mastery is an ongoing personal power development process.
I have been in situations of extreme authority and marvelled when no one
contested the power I wielded. Yet, some people with the same authority
were not as effective in controlling situations and people as was I. The
truth is that is was through effective use of personal power, combined
with role authority and potential sanctions, that worked for me and many
others in my line of work (I was an army drill sergeant at the time).
> In my eyes, competition is not restricted to conflicts (for example about
> common resources), but also includes forces to create new emergences. But
> this is a question of definition again - what content/meaning to what
> expression.
I'm not quite clear on your meaning here. Perhaps you could provide an
example of competition creating new emergences with no conflict (or
power-over) relationship between the competitive elements.
> Regarding empowerment, I like the article by Eliyahu Goldratt "Empowerment
> - Misalignment between responsibility and authority" under
> http://www.goldratt.com/empower.htm
I enjoyed the article--and agree with much of what he says about
misalignment. I do have a problem with the popular use of the word
"empowerment." Tom Petzinger mentioned this in either this or another
list-serve sometime ago, and I felt he was right in his concern. Empower
means to "give power." In my lexicon, it is a slave word, denoting when a
person in power gives some of their power to another person. Follett
rightly pointed out that one cannot give power. One can only develop
power. I prefer to replace the word "empower" with the phrase "develop
the personal capacity for power."
This is integral to the ongoing thread on leadership--for, if the
post-modern definition of leadership relies on a relationship among
partners organized around a central purpose, then who will empower me? If
I don't have my own source of power (which, as I said, I believe personal
mastery is central to the development of personal power), then how can I
partner with my co-leaders in that organization?
thanks for the exchange!
Doc
-- "Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them." - Dion BourcicaultThresholds--developing critical skills for living organizations Richard C. "Doc" Holloway Olympia, WA ICQ# 10849650 Please visit our new website, still at <http://www.thresholds.com/> <mailto:learnshops@thresholds.com>
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