Eventually all of us will wind up as either the powerful or the powerless in an “unbalanced power relationship”. It may not necessarily be within the context of an interpersonal relationship, or even a romantic one. Chances are (and I know this to be true for me), the most common type of unbalanced power relationships we engage in is that of the subordinate/boss dynamic. Given our relative age as college students, most of us occupy positions, to a greater or lesser extent, that require us to take orders from, or answer to, a supervisor or superior.
This type of command structure is near universal in both the private and public sectors. It’s this way for a reason - because it’s effective. For most any organization to run smoothly we need leaders and followers both acting cooperatively, not competitively, to get the job done.
Personally speaking, I’m OK with having “less power” in the unbalanced power structure, so long as the people above me exercise compassion and fairness in their approach. Some people will have more power, other less.
However, the inescapable truth is that everybody reports to somebody. The “unbalanced power structure” is largely a product of our own limited perspective. The private may disagree with having to answer to his sergeant, but often forgets that his sergeant reports to a lieutenant, and a lieutenant to a captain, so on and so forth.
-Ben
Hey Ben,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post as you explain an interesting way of looking at the power structures we interact with. You are definitely right that just about all of us at one point are at a lower position that someone else. Yet, like you mentioned, that is the way life works. Someone has to take charge, while others follow. We have chiefs AND Indians, because without chiefs, there would be no direction. However, it is vital that those with the upper hand are willing to open their perspectives and cooperate with their followers, or there will be no success. No matter who holds the power, there must always be rational and fair communication.
I really enjoyed reading your post! It is totally true that all of us will end up as either power in a relationship. I agree with you that the most common type of relationship where there is unbalanced power is between a boss and yourself. When I worked at a certain retail store I had to answer to someone who didn’t finish school. And she would tell me to do things in the snidest way and oh it used to make me so mad! Well, I ended up yelling at her one day and walked out of the store. Needless to say that was my last day working there.
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