Dear all,
I am enjoying the thread on empowerment and have a few thoughts to share:
John Taylor wrote in LO18309:
"I am personally no longer convinced that empowerment really exists. I
think that people take power, but are rarely given it, indeed, having
attained power, few people are anxious to give it away."
In my personal journey, I originally did not want "to be a leader" but
have slowly over time found that I really have no choice. It is part of
being human and part of making decisions. The initial reluctance on my
part I believe is shared by many. Have we not been taught to revere the
"expert" and those who are "academically" trained? We defer choices away
from ourselves, perhaps in an effort to evade responsibility (another word
that has been in this thread). Having embraced the inevitability of
leadership and responsibility (a package deal, I think), I would agree
with John on two points: that empowerment (at least in its general
connotation) doesn't exist and that people are rarely given power.
Art Mealer writes in LO18299 that, "Empowerment would be such a silly
concept, except for the existence of de-powerment." This
empowerment:de-powerment duality is good description of what happens
between people.
When I began a journey through Christianity it was with the question,
"What does it mean to be made in the image and likeness of God?" While I
do not believe I can find a "complete" answer, the one that Art mentions
captures the essence of some of it. He says, " This dreamer now sees life
in each human; precious, sentient, beautiful, awe-inspiring, reverent
life. I want to connect, not control." For the purposes of this
discussion I will add that individuals are the centers of their power. We
all have(/are) power.
While meditating, once upon a time, about the third temptation of Christ
(that's the one where the devil promises that the world will bow down if
Jesus will revere the devil), I discovered the following. If you want the
world to bow down before you, you need only convince them that you have
the power. The catch in this is that they must give their power over to
you. When someone hands over there power to another they could always
take it back so for the receiver this isn't real power. It's a high
maintenance situation. One must continue to feed the lie that they have
power over others. In this sense, empowerment is false (though it remains
a good enough label for the process). People have power over themselves,
but not over others. That sets the stage for the de-powerment lie.
Empowerment:de-powerment can be looked at in Taoist terms as a duality
with an underlying reality. The difficulty is that many never 'see'
underneath.
De=powerment has been instilled so that people do not question the power
of the "expert." It is a reflexive action. That is why when one slave
rises to masterhood he becomes like the masters he has known. It could be
called the power of the paradigm; very difficult to overcome. Individual
power is rediscovered/reclaimed only with conscious effort, thought, and
action.
Art continues, "Perhaps those who think of empowerment in terms of its
source, are right in seeing it as emanating from within the person, also
like motivation." I agree. Empowerment may be better understood as
in-powering, maked primarily by an acceptance of the power within. It
isn't until we claim the power and its attendent responsibility as our
'own' that we can use it with intent, knowledge, and even wisdom. We
still need many dreamers, rebels, and free-thinkers to present
alternatives in constructive ways. Moreover, we need places (Thanks go to
Rick Karash & Learning-org) where people listen, think deeply, and feel
safe enough to share in other thoughts than the ones that are "approved."
In Buddhist literature many stories describe things by saying what they
are not. I come to understand that leadership is not in controlling
others but perhaps instead to allow others to say, "We did it ourselves."
To life,
Chuck
Name: Charles Gilbert VOC:(704)355-5261
Carolinas Medical Center FAX:(704)355-8424
Dept of Pediatric Research
PO Box 32861
Charlotte, NC 28232-2861
Date: 6/9/98 Time: 09:05:40 AM
E-mail: cgilbert@mail.carolinas.org
{"The opinions are my own and not necessarily shared by my employer."}
Statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship
as the ability to read and write.
-H.G. Wells
--"PHO - Charles Gilbert" <cgilbert@carolinas.org>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>