Our Communications Wizard, Rebecca, presented at the Commonbound gathering this June. With reflection, we’ve found that our space in the New Economy is doing the work of holding space for when those power dynamics that we are fighting against creep up in our work.
Soon after joining Round Sky, I submitted an application in 2017 to be an organizational member of the New Economy Coalition and the rest is history!
By Commonbound 2018, Round Sky had a been a member for almost a year, and we were still getting acquainted with the network and the virtual spaces offered by NEC when I entered the physical space of the annual member meeting with the question: Where does Round Sky fit in the New Economy Coalition?
I jumped into the meeting directly from my 6 AM flight leaving a surprisingly busy New Orleans airport and was greeted by several energized faces and interactive activities for getting to know each other, understanding our collective history, and deepening our vision of the New Economy together.
The organizing crew created and nurtured a space that was intentional and thoughtful to center people from many different and often underrepresented backgrounds and life experiences, which continued throughout the weekend. That first meeting left me with more questions than answers as to where we fit into NEC.
We discussed a tension that came up throughout the weekend– how to address the real world harm and oppression happening while building up and nurturing the new economy at the same time.
With another person, I discussed the different views on cultural change versus (and?) structural change to enable shifts in harmful dynamics. In reality, each team is different and can benefit from an approach that includes attention to both culture and structure.
Deepening into practices for shifting power, I co-presented a workshop at Commonbound titled: Walk the Talk of Equality: Exploring Inclusive Decision Making.
Round Sky is doing the work of holding space for when those power dynamics that we are fighting against creep up in our work.
There’s certainly a lot to unlearn from the extractive economy and culture in which we’ve been immersed. Part of our role is to support and strengthen teams in their ability to share power and collaborate so that they can do their work more effectively.
There are multiple needs in the new economy and being able to share power rather than replicate harmful power dynamics unconsciously inside our organizations is crucial.
The theme of Commonbound this year was “Owning Our Power”. The felt power of our collective efforts across the states and beyond continues to remain on my heart as we persevere.
And the importance of enabling our teams to live into the values of our new economy, through new forms of governance and power-sharing rather than power-hoarding, seems even more relevant and salient to me.
Power is one of the things we are often reflecting on, teaching, and supporting our clients in understanding the dynamics in their team.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to put these tools to use in your team and leadership style, come to our April 2nd free informational call on the Collaborative Leadership Certification Program to learn more! Information to register for the call is here.
