12: Power Stories and Mutually Beneficial Negotiations: Fostering Ensemble Leadership

Power and leadership look a bit different in some of the more community-oriented, more egalitarian societies versus the relatively hierarchical Euro-Western orientations. We examine these power and leadership differences based on the different story plotlines they engender. The story that emerges from unequal power participants typically is a story of exploitation or benevolence.

The problem is that both of these story plotlines (exploitation or benevolence) are disempowering. It is easy to see that a powerful and exploitive negotiator will take advantage of a weaker negotiating partner. It is less obvious why the benevolent attitude is also disempowering and potentially harmful. This chapter suggests ways to avoid disempowering dynamics, and instead to participate with others in creating storylines of upsurging spirals of mutual benefit.