Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Power and Collaboration

Understanding the tension between power and collaboration helps us build healthy relationships

By Jon Heinen, Representative/Prairies Member Education Coordinator

Power is amazing. So many movies today feature some sort of powerful character, especially the comic book hero movies. I’d say the Incredible Hulk is probably my favorite.

My kids often discuss what powers they would choose if they could have two. Flying? Super Strength? Invincibility? Laser eyes? Who doesn’t dream of having superpowers because power is super fun!

But power also means enemies. Powerful characters have powerful enemies, and such is the plot of these movies and in centuries of storytelling—the constant vying for power between good and evil. It’s exciting and entertaining.

Recently, I’ve discovered that one of my passions is collaboration. The basic definition of collaboration is to join together with people to achieve some kind of goal.

A simple example is how I get my kids to help in the kitchen. I ask for help, and then we work together to empty the dishwasher, clear the counters, put the dishes away, tidy up, and so on.

I could just tell them to do it, but I find myself compelled to be part of it, so we can do it together. Doing the work together is more fun!

The desire for collaboration is so strong in me that I’ve come to realize that I’m uncomfortable when navigating power relationships. Power makes it more difficult for successful collaboration!

For example, I’m working with someone on a project, and they won’t share their ideas because there is a perceived power imbalance between us. I don’t even realize what’s happening, but because I’m energetic, loud, outgoing, and unafraid, I’m accidentally asserting a form of power that prevents the other person from being able to collaborate with me.

Or another example, the same team may be exploring options to resolve a problem at work, and one person believes their solution is the right one. All of a sudden, the problem-solving moves from a collaborative (together) solution to a struggle to determine who is right and who can assert their rightness on the solution.

As a lover of collaboration, I’ve come to realize it is at its most beautiful when there isn’t any power present, when we can authentically come together and bring something great into being.

When my kids buy into cleaning the kitchen together, we all high five at the end and feel great looking at what we’ve done. When I leave a problem-solving work meeting where everyone has contributed to the solution, the problem becomes a burden we bear together.

But collaboration without power is not how life usually works. There always seems to be someone who needs to exert their power, for whatever reason.

It happens at work, and it happens in relationships. It happens in the movies because it’s way more exciting to jostle over power and see good and evil battle it out to see who’s strongest.

Arguably, it’s also why sports are so exciting. Power in sport is about winning, and that’s awesome. Even our bodies think so, as researchers have identified that fans of winning teams have a massive spike in testosterone levels, while fans of the losing team have a significant decrease.

I believe we need to understand this tension, so we become good at both power and collaboration. We need to be aware when power is needed and use it appropriately. We need to be aware when we’re exerting power accidentally, and therefore preventing collaboration.

Working for CLAC, a labour organization founded on cooperation, interest-based bargaining, and collaborative approaches to solutions in the workplace, I can’t help but be interested in this tension. I truly believe that CLAC’s vision is about understanding how this tension between power and collaboration exists, so we can build healthy relationships in the workplace and develop collaborative solutions toward a more fulfilling and rewarding workplace for all.

Power and Collaboration

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