Dear Organlearners,
Doc Holloway <learnshops@thresholds.com> writes:
>You offer some interesting alternatives, and a delightful view
>(expowerment, I like). In my daily lexicon I borrow from Mary
>Parker Follett and simply say, "develop the capacity for power."
>I see myself, in coaching and consulting roles, as a person
>who assists others to develop their capacity for power. I
>guess I did the same thing as a parent (when I was wise
>enough to think this way).
Greetings Doc,
I see myself in the same way. And I now realise that as parent I needed
much more wisdom. But is that not what grandparents are for?
Has the world not changed the past 500 years. Before the Rennaisance a
person inherited power or fought to obtain it. Now we get people who
actually coach other people to become more powerful.
Has the world not changed the past 50 years. Before WWII the word
creativity was used only a couple of times. According to the rules of
grammer, the postfix "-itivity" refers to the "ability or capacity" to do
what it is connected to -- in this case to create.
Your phrase "capacity for power" triggered me to search for a word with
the meaning "power"-"ivity" because the word "powerivity" sounded
terrible!!
To my surprise the etymology of the word power is through the French word
"poer" coming from the Latin word "posse". This word means "to be able"!
In other words, the word "powerivity" would mean "the ability to be able".
Is the meaning of this phrase a mere tautology? I do not think so if I
compare it to the synonymous phrase "the capacity to be able". There
appears to be a deeper meaning in "the ability to be able". The meaning
which I my own experiences give rise to is something in the nature of "any
potential which can become actual on the moment of demand". It consists of
two facets, namely "potential" and "actualisation".
Doc, do you also distinguish between "potential" and "actualisation" in
your own coaching work?
Best wishes
--At de Lange <amdelange@gold.up.ac.za> Snailmail: A M de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre Faculty of Science - University of Pretoria Pretoria 0001 - Rep of South Africa
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