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austinkelmore
@austinkelmore

A lot of my work in the union I'm in has to do with understanding power, who wields it, where it can be distributed or built, and how to use it.

I recently read through The Short Guide to Community Development by Alison Gilchrist and Marilyn Taylor and while I don't recommend it (I don't think I was the target audience for this book), I did take away a couple of powerful points (pun intended).

ℹ️ Levels and Dimensions of Power

A more complex model for assessing the way in which power is working in communities has been developed by the Institute for Development Studies. Their power cube combines different aspects of power.

  • The first aspect is the form power takes (...) differentiating between visible (observable decision-making mechanisms), hidden (shaping or influencing the policy agenda), and invisible (shaping norms and beliefs).
  • The second relates to the levels at which power operates: household, local, national and global.
  • The third differentiates between arenas in which power is acted out: 'closed spaces', where decisions are made by exclusive groups; 'invited spaces' where communities may be invited to join with external actors but on the terms of the host; and 'popular or claimed spaces', those that groups form for themselves, determining their own agendas and ways of operating.

Now this is a lot to think about so let me ask you some questions that might help put this into context.

  1. Which arena is where people make the decisions for how much you're paid at work?
  2. In large company meetings (like all-hands or townhalls), which arena is that and what form of power exists there?
  3. What kind of power exists in open collective bargaining sessions where everyone is allowed to join and watch?

The forms of power people use, even unintentionally, dictate how people feel in meetings and how easy it is for them to participate and make collective decisions.

Additionally, the book references (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983)'s work defining different pressures that can exist in organizations.

ℹ️ Organizational Pressures

  • Coercive pressures are imposed by resource providers or cultural expectations.
  • Mimetic pressures lead organisations to copy other organisations that are seen to be successful, adopting 'best practice'.
  • Normative pressures come from following professional or group norms and values.

When I do a lot of my union work, I'm thinking about the different forms of power and trying to move most arenas away from closed spaces towards invited spaces and hopefully eventually landing in popular or claimed spaces. Any space I'm in that remains a closed space means other people can't help me with what goes on there and have no ability to learn or grow alongside the other folks in that space.

I'm also trying to be aware of the different pressures and how those map on top of the arenas, forms, and levels of power. If I'm ever in doubt about any of these, I ask people about how they feel and what they think!

It's a lot to keep in mind, but I think it's important to inspect how we run our organizations so we don't recreate harmful behaviors just because we're familiar with how they work.


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