I wanted to describe the experience of being in a fully-FUNctioning
collaborative effort. The words I used were: mutual empowerment. Later, I
began to realize that we have come to define empowerment as something that
someone does to someone else. By repeatedly unfortunate use, the term is
used to describe and imply a hierarchical relationship. I am delighted to
learn from Joe Hays and Rol Fessendon that a new use, or new word is
required, and I encourage both to explore a subset of empowerment, this
idea of mutual empowerment, and perhaps it's negative as well: mutual
disempowerment.
Bernie DeKoven
DeKoven@aol.com
http://www.california.com/~meetings
On 20 Dec 1995, Rol Fessenden wrote:
> Regarding Learning to Learn LO4316, Joe Hays, says,
>
> "I am campaigning to eliminate the notion that empowerment is something
> that is given. Though it may come about naturally and painlessly in some
> evolutionary self-organizing way, it is most typically a frustrating and
> excruciating process both for those who would be empowered and those who
> would empower. Empowerment is something which is earned. It is something
> which has to come to be desired and something which depends heavily on
> personal confidence and competence (and in my case, at least, on mutual
> trust, interdependence. and collaboration)."
>
> Boy, Joe, you made my day. Thank you.
>
> I would even go so far as to say that people truly recognize when they are
> 'ready' for the burden, and at that point, they _take_ empowerment. When
> anyone is waiting for empowerment to be given, they are -- practically by
> definition -- not ready for it.
>
> Rol Fessenden
> LL Bean, Inc
> 76234.3636@compuserve.com
>
>
>
-- "Bernie (Dr Fun) DeKoven" <meetings@global.california.com>