Mary Parker Follett on Power LO18467

Dale Emery (dale@dhemery.com)
Sun, 21 Jun 1998 02:06:26 -0700

Replying to LO18444 --

Doc,

> I'd like to find out what you (and others) think about #3. Specifically,
> the line, "genuine power is always that which inheres in the situation?"

When I read that, I immediately thought of Virginia Satir's concept of
congruence. Congruence comes about when we take into account self, other,
and context. I see "the situation" as made up of those three components.
I (self) have needs in the situation, and resources to contribute. The
other person (other) has needs and resources as well. The context (the
people, things, structures that create the environment in which I am
relating to the other person) also has needs and resources. To me, what
"inheres in the situation" is the complex of needs and resources. Genuine
power comes from creating contact, so that self, other, and context each
releases its resources into the situation, so each gets what it needs, so
each releases its resources, so...

Regards,
Dale

-- 

Dale H. Emery -- Collaborative Consultant High Performance for Software Development Projects E-mail: dale@dhemery.com Web: http://www.dhemery.com

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