Diverse Hire Recruiting Services’ Post

What power do you have in your organization to drive #DEI outcomes? It may be greater than you realize. In Chapter 5 of #DEIDeconstructed, Lily Zheng talks about power and ways to better understand how to most effectively utilize the power you have access to within an organization.  Zheng spends quite a bit of time defining various types of power, such as formal, reward, expert, and referent (charismatic) power. They also talk through the importance of understanding organizational structure, culture, and strategy to best utilize the power you have access to. For example, an individual contributor may not have any formal power in an organization, but may have outsized expert or referent power, given a depth of knowledge or particular ability to influence others towards desired outcomes. If that person also understands how an organization is structured and how culture impacts decision making, they may have significantly more influence than they first realized in shifting the needle on DEI programs. As an #ally myself, I have had to stay very aware of the power and privilege that I have and how it can best be used within the structure and culture of an organization to drive change. By maintaining this awareness, I can think proactively about when I can use that power and, in some ways more importantly, when I can cede that power.  There have been instances when I have been able to use formal power of my leadership positions to bring light and focus onto DEI issues, helping to bring attention to equity concerns that were not getting the attention they deserved when brought forward by those with less formal power. However, once that attention was present, it was critical to understand when I should then let other voices to be heard, allowing underrepresented persons to take center stage and make their voice and message clearly heard. This ceding of power, particularly when done publicly, such as in a meeting with executives or a Town Hall, can provide other people with more power by showing them in an expert or informational power light, as well as provide further referent power to them. Understanding when you can step forward as an ally to drive change is as important as understanding when change will be more impactful by you ceding power to others. Have you had an instance when you were able to use your power to drive DEI outcomes? How did you do so, and how did the structure and culture of your organization change how you approached the challenge? #Power #CedingPower #OrganizationalStructure #Culture  #Allyship This is part of Carlin Power, MBA and my DEI Deconstructed book series. Links to past and future posts are in the comments!