Recognising power imbalance in the room

Context:

Situations where some dialogue participants have more power than others or have a higher perceived status.

The problem

When dialogue participants believe that some of the people present have more power or assign them a higher status than they assign to themselves, communication becomes unbalanced, leading them to a downgrade of other important perspectives.

Different things can occur:

1. a) Withdrawal: participants don’t dare to speak up and prefer to listen to those in power (i.e. politicians, CEOs, influencers, …) although it’s their perspectives that really matter
2. b) Anger: participants become triggered and project anger about their own felt powerlessness onto those with more power, thereby shifting the conversation away from the topic at hand (in the best case this turns into a subtle conversations on our shadows, assumptions and projections)

Possible ways of dealing with power imbalance

Design options

• Arranging the room beforehand physically in a way that’s levelling (for example arranging the chairs in a circle)
  The way a room is set up does influence the conversation. When people sit around a long table, it is likely to put them into a business or board meeting frame. A circle of chairs is conducive to a different kind of conversation. It pays to be conscious of the arrangement of the furniture and even consider some aesthetic element such as a vase of flowers or whatever.
• Making use of movement as opposed to having people sit in chairs
  Methods of making a conversation visible through movement usually has the effect of disturbing dominant power structures. Having a conversation and asking people to stand behind the statement they agree with or move away from one they disagree with can be done in many variations. Asking people to choose a “position” on a ready-made matrix or using the corners of a room are also examples of “bringing the conversation into movement”.
• Framing the conversation in a way that stresses the importance of different perspectives

The way in which a dialogue is described when people are invited or if you meet people in pre-meetings can set the tone for the conversation. Framing the conversation at the start of a meeting can also have the same effect.

Facilitation options

• Speaking in a circle using the sociocratic circle method (stressing ”power with” as opposed to „power over“)
  Needs description (Klara?)
  Three “sociocracy tools” (the round, small group discussions and consent described very well here: https://agileandchange.com/3-tools-from-sociocracy-to-use-right-away-plus-magic-phrases-535e908fd060
• Addressing different expressions of status, rank and power directly as they arise. (Did I edit away the meaning?)
  When people react to power with anger or frustration, a facilitator who is present will make this reaction visible and allow it to be expressed. The group can then be invited to explore the topic, either in smaller groups (often a safer environment) or in the larger group. If smaller groups are used, the conversations should be linked back to the larger group so as not to disappear.