Evaluating Our Power Dynamics: “Power With” vs “Power Over” Environments & Why the Latter is So Detrimental

Power dynamics show up everywhere in our lives, especially at work, and they can allow us to thrive or wear us down.

At the heart of power dynamics is one question: is this a “power with” or “power over” environment?

Our employers and jobs can either be our partners and collaborators or feel like territorial overlords who rob us of our much-needed autonomy.

Power dynamics make a huge contribution to our job satisfaction and how we show up.

In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss why it’s so important to evaluate our jobs through this lens, and the actions we can take to improve our power dynamics.

Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode 

• The dangers of an overbearing boss dynamic
  How can we tell if we’re in a hierarchical, territorial, status-driven environment that has power over us instead of power with us?
  
  
• How employers treat us when they have a power with dynamic
  Is it possible to have an employer but still feel empowered and valued?
  
  
• The detrimental effect of stifling non-compete clauses
  Why do typical non-compete clauses in our contracts epitomize a power over dynamic that does more harm than good?