Power over.

Power with.

Power to.

Power within.

- Brené Brown from Power and Leadership

We are watching a political movement in the United States that is showcasing all the hallmarks of leadership that is trying to re-enforce a Power Over position. The only way to make a majority of the people do what the minority wants is to threaten them and stoke fear. This is what we are seeing and it is the complete opposite of empathetic leadership. It is a type of vengeful leadership because those that are losing control feel pain (loss of privilege, position, etc.) and want to alleviate it by inflicting pain on those who are gaining control.

Practicing power with, power to, and power within is where unity starts coming back together. There will be differing opinions in unity. There will be struggle in unity. Uncomfortable conversations will happen in unity as well. It's not all rainbows and kittens, but it can work if you allow it to.

Two things that unity have little tolerance for are distrust or hate. While repairable over time, distrust and hate cannot be left to grow or they will pit people against each other around ideas that really don't matter. Sound familiar?

My brain is dead, but one thing is clear. 99.9999% of you are not going to be President of the United States of America which means that you don't have a country to unite. Congrats, BUT you do have a small community, team, or company to unite and heal. Share the power in your circles.

With energy (and power with, to, within),

sD