Those of us who love distributed-power models still have strong preferences about what happens in the world. Distributed power is the process – and we hope, using that process (ideally learning and evolving along the way) that the ultimate decision is something we personally desire.
Sometimes, however, it doesn’t go our way. There’s a new policy that impacts our job - the newsletter frequency is ratcheted up, perhaps, or the great idea we had for the staff get-together is nixed. We have options in those times. We can grieve and then move on. We can decide to keep building influence, having conversations and collecting data that helps us understand what will work and elevates our own perspective. Or, if the decision is particularly egregious, we may decide to use bigger tools of influence like the media or the courts, or to remove ourselves from the system (e.g. quitting).
I’ve been thinking about what kinds of power we have when it looks like we’re losing. My expectation is that we are stepping into a time in history when it will feel to me that many, many things – most larger than I can expect to influence – are trending away from my preference. I’m worried that I’ll check out into passivity, or that I’ll be trapped in repeated cycles of frantic, reactive opposition.
Cyndi Suarez describes an alternative in her book, “The Power Manual”. She differentiates between “supremacist power” (the ability to control) and “liberatory power”. Liberatory power is similar to spiritual power. It comes from a sense of abundance and mutuality, not taking cues from traditional relationships of domination and submission, but also not defining itself in opposition to them. Capacity for liberatory power is developed in daily interactions. She writes:
“…you either contribute to power dynamics or interrupt them…Making a choice to act out liberatory as opposed to supremacist power in these interactions [means] one must constantly refuse powerless identities in interactions…when one finds oneself in an interaction that positions one as powerless, one is able to perceive it, keep calm, and assert mutuality.”
I once participated in a facilitated session where we were asked how we could tell we were in liberatory power. We had answers matching Cyndi’s – in that state you do not internalize low opinions others have of you and you don’t need to put others down. One person mentioned feeling free even of self-doubt and guilt, confident in how much weight to carry. There was no urgency. We were sturdy in our convictions, speaking up for justice without falling into war.
If I had to choose, I’d honestly prefer that the world was going my way. That said, if I can cultivate this kind of power despite the external environment, I know it will be a tremendous victory - and if we can do it together, I think we might be surprised at what happens.
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