What is Power?

I’ve spent most of my career investigating the different facets and forms of power. Here are a few thoughts.

As a culture we have an idea that power is domination and control - over animals, other humans, and ultimately nature. You can see this definition of power in feudalism, colonialism, and even movie posters where the ‘hero’ stands front and centre with a big gun that is his main tool to gain power. If you ask people, ‘Do you want power?’ most will likely cringe. Especially women. That’s because our cultural view of power is conflated with domination, abuse, oppression. Unless you are a psychopath, you probably aren’t keen to meet this out on your fellow beings. Hence empathetic, caring people will shy away from taking positions of power. But actually this turning away from power is itself an abuse of power. Let me explain.

The definition of power as domination is just one of many and not even the most popular or powerful form of power. In fact, that version of power is WEAK POWER. Weak because it is fragile, easily defeated, and requires constant effort to maintain usually in the form of propaganda, lies and violence. This is because weak power can’t inspire or persuade. It has no vision. It is not true power.  

There are other types of power, too. There is the power to create and grow. The power to influence outcomes and make changes. There is, as Brene Brown puts it, power to, power with, and power within. Power is relational and changing. Sometimes you might be in a situation where you hold power and in another where you don’t. Some power is deserved because you earned it and some is not because you came by it only through privilege. Power is not inherently bad or good. Power can be used to support, protect, defend and sustain life. Or it can be used to exploit, oppress, abuse and destroy life.

When people with good intentions don't own and take power, it becomes the preserve of the heartless, ruthless, greedy, narcissistic, psychopaths. That’s why not using power can be just as bad as using it badly. Some people have a lust for power over others because in their childhood they were powerless against abuse. They cling to a belief that if only they can dominate others (the way they were dominated) they will feel OK. But of course we see from the world's dictators, that domination doesn’t soothe the wound. Weak power is weak. It’s like a hole that constantly needs filling and yet never fills. 

I really like what Kelly Diels, a Canadian coach and business leader says about power. She says power is a brand. Like ‘Kleenex’ the brand comes to stand in for the thing. And in our culture weak power is standing in for the thing. But it’s not the thing. It’s the weak version of power. Weak power has no vision for a world where beings are free and flourishing. It cannot conceive of a world based on pleasure, diversity and abundance, though that was life on our planet until very recently. Real power is the ability to imagine something better, something different and act to bring that vision to life. That’s what I want for all people. Not that we crave weak power. But that we ARE power. By our actions and our choices we re-make the world in such a way that Life and Nature are sacred once again.