The Oklahoma Education Association

Connecting Self-Interest to Levels of Power

The pressures on families SOCIAL PRESSURES INSTITUTIONS FAMILY: What do you teach as important? What did you learn is most important?

CORPORATE The Levels of Power

BUREAUCRACY The Levels of Power

GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, & POLITICIANS The Levels of Power

LAWYERS AND EXPERTS The Levels of Power

The Media The Levels of Power

UNIONS, CONGREGATIONS & SCHOOLS The Levels of Power

CITIZENS, FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES The Levels of Power

POWER RECOGNIZES POWER! The Levels of Power

Must have at least 2 participants Must have a PLAN! Minimum requirements for power…

However… Power without Love is Brutality…. And Love without Power is Sentimentality.

The Godfather of High-stakes Testing FOLLOW THE $$... THE STORY OF SANDI KRESS

The continuum of self-interest: Selfish……….…Self-Interest………….….Selfless All self, BalanceNo self, no others all others Self-interest: Latin for “interesse”— the interests among, between

The continuum of consent: The continuum of consent: Threat of sanctionDeceptionAppeal to authorityTradition/apathyInformed consent

If we don’t know our own self- interests, we will be MANIPULATED!

Relational Power and the Power of One on One Conversations

PRIVATE Family Friends Who?PUBLIC Coworkers Neighbors Doctor PRIVATE Comfort Security Looks for?PUBLIC “Mask” person, but not fake Love Intimacy Why?Services Recognition Power ClosedBoundaries: How are relationships conducted? Open Above-board Trust Attraction Kinship Based upon?More choice calculation InformalHow is business conducted? Formal Agenda Blood Permanency What holds them together? Self-interestHarmonyAtmosphere?Tension—forces clarification LoyaltyRuled by?AccountabilityLiked, lovedResponse?Respect RELATIONSHIPS: Private vs. Public

Relational: Power with Others seen as potential leaders Belief in mentoring Exponential power…power grows through others Unilateral: Top down Rugged individual Others exist to carry out their will Delegating Power is a zero-sum game…there’s only so much power to go around Two types of power…

The One to One Relational Meeting: Always face to face Intentional 30 minutes Purpose? To explore the possibility of a relationship…to determine if you want a second meeting with this person! Relational Best Practices

ARE NOTARE About taskAbout relationship TalkListening SellingOffer of power PoliteAgitational InterviewPersonal underpinnings for public action StereotypesCuriosity One to One Relational Meetings

AGITATION VS. IRRITATION NEVER EVER DO ANYTHING FOR ANYONE THAT HE OR SHE CAN DO FOR HIM OR HERSELF! THE IRON RULE…

Anger To the Greeks, “meekness” meant appropriate anger at the appropriate time. They positioned meekness between two other emotions on a continuum: Rage meekness apathy How do you spot an organizer? Qualities to look for…

Humor Imagination Curiosity The “Integrated Schizoid” Acceptance of terminality Ego Other qualities to look for…

General Organizing Actions Association Actions Develop association leaders Move an agenda Membership engagement Improving teaching and learning conditions Building membership Develop leaders Move an agenda Deepen member involvement Raise $$ What does organizing look like?

1) Be clear about the mission…what is most important? What are we trying to make happen? 2) Be strategic! What can I do now that positions me for the future? This draws on imagination, creativity Avoid one size fits all thinking…local context matters Refusal to accept a changing world Seeing life as one-dimensional…all things are good or everything is bad 3) Reflection Time management

“We run around as a ball of undigested happenings.” Saul Alinsky The cycle of reflection: HypothesizeTake ActionReflection

What gets in the way?What helps? Reading—specific and targeted Writing Tension Training Mentoring Quiet time Sleep Time Fear Lack of humor Arrogance Lack of ego Technology Fatigue There’s power in reflection!

Are we filling our calendars with tasks, operations, or opportunities? Most of us work 90% operations, 10% opportunities! Strive for 50/50! Make a budget…

So now we know… There’s no shame in self interest There’s unselfishness in self- interest We are currently at the BOTTOM of the levels of power Power depends upon relationships Power depends upon consent Reflection is vital