Enlightened+Power

Coughlin, L., Wingard, E., & Hollihan, K. (Eds.).(2005). Enlightened Power: How Women Are Transforming the Practice of Leadership. Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 0-7879-7787-X

Google Document: [|Enlightened Power]

Enlightened Power is a series of 31 personal narratives encompassing a number of topics. Although there are a number of topics that resonate with us, we have chosen three broad areas to discuss, and to apply to Bowling Alone. On March 4th we will discuss the power of **Passion** in life and work. On March 11th we will examine **Power and Influence**. Finally, we will discuss the role of **Sustainability** on March 25th. As part of our final report, with your help, we will be preparing a community assessment that will help members of Bowling Alone find their voice and their passion.

=__Topics for Discussion__ =

= __**Passion:**__ **(3/4)** =

Bowling Alone Passion Survey
Thank you for providing content for the questions on the following survey. The survey is designed to begin to uncover what people are passionate about in their lives and its relevance to helping Bowling Alone increase its social capital.


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Questions:

 * In your own life, what are you passionate about? If you weren’t in your current line of work, what would you be doing?
 * How do you know that your present career path is the right one? How do you define a good job?
 * To each class member: Describe a crystallizing moment in your life in which you were able to define your identity?
 * Have you figured out a way to sustain your passion in the workplace?
 * Is it important to create a presence of passion for our initiatives in Bowling Alone
 * If so, how can we promote passion?
 * What can/will people in Bowling Alone rally behind?
 * What's your definition of passion?
 * Is passion necessary for progress?
 * How can we help people find their "voice"?
 * Civic Passion: On page 28, Eisler (2005), mentions "industrial democracy: using teamwork in factories rather than turning human beings into mere cogs in the industrial machine." How does the average citizen meld the industrial democracy model with civic engagement?
 * Work/Life Balance Passion: How would you coach workers in Bowling, OH to approach employers about expanding parental leave, on-site child care, and flexible work options in order to develop the social capital of their chidren?
 * When someone comes up with an idea that excites/intrigues you, how do you communicate your passion? On a scale of 1-10, how passionate do you let yourself become about it in front of the group?
 * What event in your personal or professional life served as your wakeup call? How did that event activate your passion for life, family, career, spirituality?

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Chapter 5 discusses items which are significant in one’s life: family, community involvement, relationships and friendships, and social challenges. Sometimes people do not think of work as a passion, but more of a means to an end. Therefore, the author (Gail Straub) asks readers to explore their passion at work. First, “The Quest,” for passion is discussed, then Straub elaborates on finding one’s passion as well as how to sustain one’s passion in the workplace.======

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Chapter 10 talks about combing two passions: work and family and how to find that balance. This chapter discuses why one chooses to work and what are the rewards and challenges to overcome. It also states how working mothers need to integrate both parts of their lives and figure out ways to not only take care of their families, but also take care of themselves.======

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Any major change begins with passion (Chapter 13). As this relates to Bowling Alone, we must help the community find passion about their new lives and the vision that we set for them. Often, this involves understanding the values and interests of the area’s citizens. We are asking them to change, and we must allow them the time to figure out what is important to them (Chapter 12). We also must give them the time to accept this new life. The community must be actively involved in this process.======

Barbara Waugh details her experiences at HP (Ch. 24) while trying to start a women's conference for HP employees. In part she explains the balance between passion and the need to not alienate others. She believes that people who are passionate about making differences must //"aggregate and become a group, a group big enough to become a minority, because minority can and do change things."// Being passionate about a cause, idea, or course of action often isn't sustainable without the inclusion of others. - - //Does including others mean that a person must compromise their passion?//

In chapter 25 Eileen Fischer and Susan Schor (business owners) describe how they want their employees to "love this company". They encourage this commitment be encouraging employees to find roles within the company that they are pasionate about. The intended result is to create a culture of collaboration, creativity, and social consciousness.

Marilyn King (Ch. 28) describes her experience as an Olympic athlete. Her definition of "Olympian Thinking" is //vision guided, passion powered, and action oriented.// She writes: //"When you truly care about something, your entire system shifts into high gear, and you access energy and skills that are unavailable when you are only mildly interested in an activity. It is truly a heady and physically exhilarating state of being . . . When you are connected to something that matters, major obstacles become minor details and you access the creativity to find new resources and solutions. Teams, organizations, and even countries can function the same way . . . That passionate vision prompted the development of new resources and new innovations, and took humankind where it had never been before."//

= __**Power and Influence:**__ **(3/11**) =

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Questions:

 * What are some difficult questions that will need to be answered/addressed?
 * What is the best forum/method for addressing these questions?
 * How can we build a guiding coalition?
 * Who/what can/will stop these initiatives from succeeding?
 * Do you believe that face time is important or is it over-rated?
 * How do we make sure that the community develops those networks, and some form of face time, especially if we focus a large part of our energy on technology?
 * In a depressed economy, how do we get people to find balance in their lives, rather than just focus on their jobs and the need to provide for their families. Recent newspaper articles have featured the lives of some household providers who now must work seven days a week in two jobs because of wage cuts or a desire to develop an emergency fund in case times get worse. How do we make sure that this doesn’t happen to Bowling Alone?
 * How do we encourage people to take on those difficult conversations?
 * What will we do about people who are ill-equipped for such encounters?
 * Should these difficult conversations be a norm or an expectation in our community? In other words, do we have strategies for people who refuse to be a part of our community and the disagreements which may arise?
 * How do we expand our system of networks aside from just the social aspect?
 * What kind of hierarchy do we wish to develop in our community and in our local businesses?
 * How do we build trust in our community so that people will seek out one another?
 * To each class member: Whom do you seek out for new ideas and new information?
 * As a leader, are there times you feel like you are wearing a costume or playing a role? What have you done in the past to face this issue?

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Is face time over-rated? Different authors in this book take different points of view. For example, Cunningham and Murray (Chapter 14) tell of their decision several years ago to begin sharing the same executive position at Fleet Boston Financial. The job sharing arrangement, they argued, made them better executives who lived more balanced lives. Unfortunately, while they cited many advantages, they also admitted that they encountered a huge problem of having less time to network and build social capital with their staff and fellow managers. They said that “unfortunately seat time or ‘face time’ is still considered an indication of productivity.” They admitted that this might have limited their level of power and influence within the company. Still, they felt more satisfied with their lives and better able to handle the pressures of the job once they moved to half-time.======

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Power and influence also come from our ability to maintain unity even when there are major disagreements. This comes, in large part, from having the courage to tackle disagreements and personality conflicts (Chapter 16). This is often resolved through simple one-to-one communication. In this case, Patton, Gravelle and Peppet offer an example of a conflict in which the conversation goes poorly and little is accomplished. They then offer a second way to approach this disagreement: by entering the conversation with a more open mind. This allows both people to work through the matter and more clearly communicate, rather than to assume the worst about the other person along with his/her motives (Chapter 16).======

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In developing our networks in Bowling Alone, it is important to note that there are many types of networks. Stephenson cites seven networks related to cores of knowledge that we develop and use depending upon our need (Chapter 15). For example, we have a work network that helps guide us through our organization as well as a social network that keeps us apprised on what is happening in our world. The other five are innovation, expert knowledge, career guidance, learning and decision-making networks. In addition, we need to decide what kind of hierarchy that we want to establish. The author closes with a key line: “Hierarchies can neutralize networks but networks can unhinge hierarchies. In the end, it is a dilemma — and an uneasy balance of power.”===== Authentic leadership comes from people who are comfortable in their own skin allowing them to act with integrity. The author defines this as two simple steps: know thyself and express thyself (Chapter 18). In researching men and women related to authentic leadership, the author noticed some interesting differences. For example, women take more time to know themselves and are more concerned about the people around them. However, men appear to be more successful as leaders in part because they encounter fewer obstacles related to authenticity. Men are less distracted by outside opinions and are less concerned about the needs of others. Bias is also a factor as shown by studies that indicate bosses of male and female executive rate both genders equally in terms of effectiveness, however the staff members of those same groups tend to rate men higher than women. In coaching our future leaders, effectiveness will increase if we are able to help people know themselves. Good questions to ask include: What do you have a passion to express? When do you feel most energized as a leader? When do you feel most drained? Which leaders do you admire most for their authenticity? Chapter 3 talks about the power we have within and through our personal stories, this power is either diminished or enhanced. The authors, Carol Anderson and Patricia Shafer, share their stories of finding their internal power. Through their professional experiences they were both able to discover as well as embrace their power and witnessed its influence in the work place. This chapter shows us how we can use this deeper power to benefit our working environment and how we can recognize the benefits it has to leadership.

Chapter 4 discusses the importance of failing well. Barbara Cocoran shares her business experience and by failing, she learned one of the biggest lessons of her life. What is important to remember is that we must learn from our mistakes and failures, because being able to "fall with style" contributes to our personal power. Failures teach us lessons as well and influence future decisions we make.

Swanee Hunt discusses power and influence extensively throughout chapter 26. Born into a powerful family she spent time questioning her place int he families power structure (that included a large corporation) and how power could be used to help others. She started a non profit organization in Denver that assisted mentally ill people (her brother suffers from mental illness). As the U.S ambassador to Austria (1993-1997) she worked to include more women in the discussions of NATO roles and European Union expansion. She skillfully maneuvered through gender and age issues, national policies, and even gay and lesbian issues. As the director of The Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard she advocates "soft power" and works towards inclusion and synergistic relationships. She discusses how women are often closer to actual issues and problems at a community level which makes it necessary for them to be in (and lead) policy discussions both domestically and abroad.

Rear Admiral Deborah A. Loewer, USN highlights both the struggle and advancements that women have gained in the United States Military. From women having to disguise themselves in order to serve during the civil war, to women serving side by side, under the same risks as men in Iraq, she highlights over a century of women's slow progress.

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= **Sustainability:** __**(3/25**)__ =

__**N**__egotiate
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

__Questions:__

 * Define a 5,10,25 year plan
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">What does Bowling Alone look like in 2035 - - what are the 3 words that will define your community in 2035
 * <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">How do we bridge generational, socioeconomic, and cultural divides?
 * One author writes: “A company, no matter how inclusive, cannot have more than one leader.” Do you agree with this statement?
 * How will we create an environment that allows the citizens to prosper?
 * What kind of groups (circles) do your foresee in Bowling Alone?

Content:
For this project to work and sustain itself, we must have a consistent voice and recognizable leadership. While we must seek out the involvement of everyone, we must know where we are headed. “A company, no matter how inclusive, cannot have more than one leader.” (Chapter 13). More importantly, however, is we to build flexible environment where people can “grow, prosper and be fulfilled.” To do this, we need to make sure that we are able to use the skills and traits that are found in many female leaders in this country: multitasking, natural resource optimization, intuition, collaboration and empathy (Chapter 13).

For us to promote sustainable change, it is vital that every person in Bowling Alone has a role on the team (Chapter 17). Obviously, not everyone will want to take part, though those who come forward must be used in a positive manner. Just as important is making sure the team has the proper resources in place along with the flexibility to renegotiate when needed. McMahon also makes it clear that we must be able to clarify our purpose in Bowling Alone and should focus on engaging people rather than influencing them to change. Bowling Alone must have the confidence to face the fears that often lead people to avoid change. One way to do this is to highlight the benefits of actions, for example, making the statement, “If I change this thing, I can expect these benefits.”

In talking about her own journey as a champion of diversity, Riccardi (Chapter 18) offers two innovative ideas of use to Bowling Alone. First, she mentions that within any community, there are people who identify with the majority and then those groups who are underrepresented and may not feel that their experiences are valid. Within her own company, she implemented affinity groups that she called circles, to bring together like groups such as minority circles, gay and lesbian circles, and parenting circles. Involvement in these circles gave members a feeling of legitimacy and a part of the bigger picture. Her second important point related to the integration of these many groups into the community. For this to happen, we must provide training for residents of Bowling Alone so that they are successful in this new environment.

Sally Helgesen discusses sustainability in Ch. 23. She believes the influence of long term thinking and not opting for the short term wins is a primary goal of sustainability. She highlights many organizations who have focused on short term profits instead of long term planning/goals - - pointing out how they ultimately fail (think Enron, Global Crossing, etc.) Sustainability must be built into new models of organizational leadership in order for continued growth and development.

=//Additional Material//=

__Developing a Sense of Self



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Short Video About International Women's Day __http://www.internationalwomensday.com/video/video.asp?play=2__

=//Additional References//__= Elliott, C., & Steed, V., (2008) Learning from Leading Women's Experience: Towards a Sociological Understanding, //Leadership//, 4: 159-180, DOI: 10.1177/1742715008089636

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