SHARING POWER WITHIN
At IMPACT, we talk about two kinds of power:
- Positional power is a power that is externally-granted, based on a position we have in a certain context. Positional power is finite, making it hard to share. Hierarchy is a system that highly values positional power.
- Personal power is an internal power that is expressed through our innate gifts and talents. Personal power is infinite and can be shared for the good of all.
Think of personal power like a candle: “When you give away some of the light from the candle by lighting another person’s candle, there isn’t less light because you’ve given some away – there’s more.” – Kaleel Jamison
To walk our talk, IMPACT staff and board have been experimenting with many ways to share power in the midst of extreme diversity. Here are a few ways we are doing this:
- Operating Principles for Power Sharing:
There are six core practices that support our staff in sharing power as we work together in teams. We hold each other accountable to these practices, and we also support community members in adopting them:
- Relationship Building: We take the time to build relationships, in the beginning and throughout the process of working together.
- Contributing and Receiving Gifts: We actively identify and appreciate each person’s unique gifts and personal power, including our own.
- Shared Goals: We openly share diverse perspectives and create shared goals, before acting together.
- Taking Action: We put shared goals into motion with courage, persistence, and flexibility.
- Continuous Reflection: We actively listen, seek feedback, share honestly, and acknowledge mistakes at every step of the way.
- Conflict Transformation: We embrace conflict as a natural occurrence which can lead to creative solutions and personal transformation.
- Emphasizing the Circle: We sit in circles in all meetings, events, and programs to make sure we are listening to each other and never elevating one person over another.
- Consensus: Board and staff decisions are made by consensus rather than by majority rule. We prefer to come to a place of mutual agreement, which involves deep dialogue and a willingness to compromise.
- Teams: To include all voices, we have an elaborate internal team structure with specific team responsibilities, which helps us act and make decisions more equitably.
- Reducing the Board/Staff Divide: Staff members are invited to attend all board meetings, board members are invited to be a part of program discussions, and board and staff members often work together on project teams.
- Rotating Facilitation: Our staff – from our Executive Director to our AmeriCorps members – rotates the responsibility of preparing and facilitating staff meetings.
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