> [!summary] Progressive Summary # Structured Notes ## Definitions ## Chapter Summaries ### Chapter 1 - The Fundamentals of Power Mary Parker Follett defined "power-with" as "a jointly developed power" used to facilitate "the enrichment and advancement of every human soul." Toni Morrison: "If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else." There are 4 elements that define any power relationship: - the resources each party values - whether they have alternatives to access those valued resources There are 4 strategies for shifting the balance of power: - attraction - increasing the perceived value of resources that one has access to - consolidation - decreasing others' access to those resources - expansion - increasing one's one access to valuable resources - withdrawal - decreasing one's valuation of a resource In the 1970s, psychologist Lee Ross coined the term "fundamental attribution error" to refer to our natural bias in explaining another person's behaviour by referring to their personal attributes rather than situational factors. Bertrand Russell: "Power is the fundamental concept in social science ... in the same sense in which energy is the fundamental concept in physics." ### Chapter 2 - Power Can Be Dirty, But It Doesn't Have to Be Power leads to: - self-focus - self-confidence - less empathy for others - belief that we are benefitting others Those who are powerful have less moral qualms about networking to get more resources, because they feel they have something to offer in return. Those who have less power feel they do not have anything to offer, so experience more shame in networking. This can augment already existing inequalities. In 1991, Dr Vera Cordeiro, a Brazilian, started a non-profit Instituto DARA to break the cycle of illness that affected young children from poor families. Initially, she sold her personal items to fund the venture. Eventually, she became comfortable courting the rich for funding. She became comfortable going to events like World Economic Forum. Her nonprofit became one of the most highly regarded in Brazil. By 2016, it had helped 70,000 people. But then staff and family members started pointing out that she had a habit of interrupting others, and that she seemed to care a lot about attending award ceremonies and public events. She had become intoxicated with power. The challenge is to avoid the pitfalls of seeing power as dirty (thus avoiding it), and succumbing to the traits of hubris and insensitivity that having power can lead to. Danielle Tussing did a dissertation on Reluctance to Lead, and found that reluctant leaders made the most effective leaders. (Sociocratic selection is the best way to find reluctant leaders). > In sum, embracing power while avoiding its pitfalls rests on two foundations: an awareness of interdependence, which allows us to counteract self-focus with empathy; and an awareness of impermanence, which fights hubris with humility. [Woolley 2010-10-29 - Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups](zotero://select/items/1_QXK8DQVI) - The extent to which team members take turns speaking is among the strongest predictors of team performance > Establishing protocols ... to prevent a few (over)confident people from hoarding airtime and silencing dissenting opinions is critical. So are formal processes and organizational norms that keep everyone—especially leaders, who have more power—accountable for their actions. Such practices lead the powerful to focus on others and to act in a less self-serving manner. They also keep the newly empowered team members accountable: the psychological safety to speak up and be heard enhances team learning and effectiveness when everybody feels accountable for using their share of power to accomplish collective goals. The key to good governance: > The idea that underlies all these practices is that power sharing and accountability accomplishes two objectives: It doesn’t let power go to the leader’s head; and it improves the effectiveness of the group. ### Chapter 3 - What Do People Value? > Observed from afar, humanity is but a speck of dust in an endless universe, our position as inconsequential as it is fleeting. At the deepest level, what we humans long for are two defenses against this existential dilemma: first, protection from the whims of dangerous forces much greater than our own that could annihilate us in a moment; second, reassurance of our value as individuals in a universe that is indifferent to us. Ultimately, then, we aim to satisfy two basic human motives: safety from harm and confirmation that we are worthy of esteem. The need for safety and the need for self-esteem are so fundamental that they reliably shape power relationships across time and space. Across different cultures, people tend to evaluate others on competence and warmth, which psychologists refer to as cognition-based trust and affect-based trust. > Warmth is trust in someone’s intentions; competence is trust in someone’s ability to act on their intentions. If people had to choose between warmth and competence, they usually choose warmth. A good way to build connections is through familiarity (spending time with someone) and similarity (showing that you have something in common). ### Chapter 4 - Who Controls Access to What We Value? ### Chapter 7 - Power Doesn't Change - It Just Changes Hands I like the example of Barefoot College and how they intentionally re-distributed power towards women. I wonder if they might be a potential partner for an NVC / Sociocracy program. I admire how they've figured out how to teach advanced technical knowledge to people who are illiterate. ### References Isabelle Ferreras - Firms as Political Entities - https://isabelleferreras.net/books/firms-as-political-entities/ Elizabeth Anderson - https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/7/17/15973478/bosses-dictators-workplace-rights-free-markets-unions Elizabrth Anderson - [Anderson 2006 - The Epistemology of Democracy](zotero://select/items/1_ITG4YFLY) French Citizen's Convention on Climate - https://www.conventioncitoyennepourleclimat.fr/en/ # Quotes