by Shelia Slemp, MS, MA
Senior Program Officer, LISC
The Organizational Development Initiative of Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the largest community development intermediary in the country, provides a 10-day executive leadership development program to local community development leaders across the country. From visioning to values, from empowerment to change, each Executive Leadership Institute participant is encouraged to identify their leadership strengths and challenges to become more effective leaders for their organization and community.
An important component of the LISC Executive Leadership Institute is analyzing and utilizing power effectively. As part of the curriculum, we designed a module that invites participants to consider their personal power, the power inherent in the systems that surround them, the power of individuals with whom they interact, and power they may not have considered in the past.
Participants create a Community Power Analysis Map with either themselves or their organization at the center. Some look like the molecular structures one might find on the periodic table, while others look like overlapping, concentric circles. Still others defy description with multiple colors, symbols, lines and figures often signifying degrees and formality of differing power relationships. Some look like the molecular structures one might find on the periodic table, while others look like overlapping, concentric circles. Still others defy description with multiple colors, symbols, lines and figures often signifying degrees and formality of differing power relationships. What they share in common is a visual representation of the process each person undertakes to assess what having power means for them and their organization and how to access it to achieve their organizational goals. Potential sources of power brokers within a community might include politician and their aides; members of the business community; corporate, faithbased and public funders; the media; the non-profit community including staff and board members and others.
In their mapping, leaders identify “nodes” of power and draw lines between the nodes to signify relationships of influence or authority. The also identify “brokers” who travel between nodes of power. In this way, the power map becomes dynamic, rather than a simple pictorial representation.
When the mapping has been completed, participants take part in a gallery walk, discussing each others’ work. The conversation that ensues is rich and participants begin to realize that without power an organization may achieve small wins, but cannot be catalytic or transformational. Communities vary and participants must look to their own local spheres to determine unique designs and aspects of power. In some cases power may be diffuse; in others, concentrated. As part of the mapping process, leaders begin to realize that the importance of real and perceived authority in a community. Their assumptions are often challenged as they realize the real power brokers in their neighborhood. For example, at first glance one might assume an empty-nest, retired mother of three has little power to bring to bear on the organization. On closer examination, the leader might discover... that nothing happens without her stamp of approval.For example, at first glance one might assume an empty-nest, retired mother of three has little power to bring to bear on the organization. On closer examination, the leader might discover that everyone in the neighborhood knows this retiree and comes to her for informal conversation and information exchange and that nothing happens without her stamp of approval. She is not only a hidden, potential source of power for the organization, but she could very well use her power to derail activities the organization might choose to undertake. Another example comparing opportunities and risks associated with a strong “go to” mayor. Participants assess the opportunity such strong power affords them, but also the potential risk for fall-out that could reverberate among other power brokers you might use or hope to use. Power brokers have the ability to positively or negatively impact the organization; a leader’s ability to access and communicate with them effectively is an important ability.
Through a process of interpretation and feedback, participants often find they share spheres of influence; access to power and powerful people overlap. As they discern collective identity, they also see opportunities for collective action. Their excitement at this realization sparks ideas for planning and action – individually and collectively. Although Power Mapping itself is a power-generating process, it cannot be done in a vacuum. By the time leaders undertake this process, they have undergone a great deal of individual leadership development and group dialogue. It is important to understand that although mapping one’s power may indeed be powerful, it is not necessarily the starting point for coalition-building but may be a tool for enhancing the process.
Shelia Slemp is a graduate of GLP's
Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach
and Advanced Learning Design courses.
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