PowerU 55: How Power Manifests

#PowerU 55 - Before you can map power, you have to be able to see it. That sounds straightforward. But most of us were never taught to observe power, our own or anyone else’s. Yesterday on the bus I watched two men push past a line of women, and then one of them push past women on the bus for seats and spend the ride performing status for anyone within earshot. Overt. Unapologetic. Probably not even conscious. I likely agree with those men on a bunch of things: transit policy for sure, probably climate and housing policy and maybe even a whole bunch of other things. But issue agreement tells you almost nothing about power alignment. And confusing the two is one of the most common and costly mistakes in coalition work. This episode introduces the idea that we can observe how power manifests: what it looks like in bodies, in movement, in who assumes space is theirs to claim. Next episode we will take it to the next level and how we can observe power when it’s a bit more subtle. In the meantime I would love to hear how you’re observing power in the spaces you’re working in. #PowerU #PowerLiteracy #Leadership #SystemsChange