It’s OK to talk about power
Being able to organize a protest is certainly one way to exercise power, but it not the only one. Photo by Jesse Clockwork.
Groups in the environmental and social sectors are gearing up these days. Lots of important battles ahead. As these battles approach, perhaps the most important element determining success is going to be power.
For some reason, a lot of nonprofit groups aren’t comfortable talking about power. In fact, many don’t even like using the term advocacy. To them, these ideas smell like conflict, extremism, and partisanship–qualities they despite in their opponents. They’ve created their brand with a better world in mind, so they avoid talking about power, or even the expression of it. They believe their strength is in being right, being science-based, being reasonable.
I’ve also seen a good number of organizations shy away from talking about power because they have a funder or board member who doesn’t want to give money to a group that is contentious, that maybe acts like that other organization that is constantly making trouble.
This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of power. In the policy, legislative, and legal battles that are ahead, power is going to determine the winner. Those who are better at defining it, aggregating it, and directing it will ultimately get what they want. In other words, if we want to protect a certain endangered species, save a pristine landscape, address homelessness, safeguard LBGTQ+ rights, and do something at long last about climate change, we’re going to need to talk about power.
I certainly can’t get into every aspect of this topic in this space, but I want to cover a few important elements.
First, it’s important to dispel the notion that power and the use of it are not necessarily contentious, divisive. Truth is, there are organizations out there wielding extraordinary power to influence policy and legislation that never sue anyone, never appear in the headlines, that in fact have a generally benevolent brand if they have any name recognition at all.
Power comes in a lot of forms, and it’s important for any group trying to move the needle to figure out where their power is and how it might be best directed for results. Here are just a few examples of where power might exist:
Relationships: You or a board member can influence a decision with just a phone call.
Money: You can literally buy a solution (ie, purchasing land, funding a ballot initiative, etc.)
Membership: You can bring 10,000 people to the Capitol, flood offices with phone calls or letters.
Knowledge: You are the sole, trusted custodian of scientific knowledge or insight into a given issue.
Loudness: You simply know how to make more noise and get more attention than anyone else.
One thing that frequently happens is that an organization will have one of these forms of power, but instead want to exercise another form that they don’t actually have. For instance, they’ll have a huge membership, but decide to try and get what they want through relationships they don’t actually have. Or they will have all the key science on a subject, and try to rally a grassroots membership that doesn’t exist. I don’t really know why this happens, but it underscores the need for organizations to do a really thorough assessment of their power before they embark on a certain strategy.
There’s a saying that goes: Time is your most valuable asset, and you know it is because people are always trying to take it from you. The same is kind of true for power. As soon as any organization aggregates any level of power, its leadership will feel pressure not to use it. They’ll be told that a lawsuit will violate the spirit of cooperation, that introducing a bill will make the governor mad, that a letter-writing campaign will alienate a key ally. While certainly power doesn’t need to be exercised to be effective, it’s always important to make sure you get something when you do that. Too many organizations give away their power for nothing.
A lot of organizations will look at a more comprehensive version of the above list and realize they don’t have any of those things, that they really don’t have a way to express power. That’s a tough spot to be in, and unfortunately too many good causes suffer from this. Being right–particularly in this day and age–is not enough. A strongly-worded letter gets you almost nowhere. But the good news is that if your cause is worthy, power can be had, and it should be your priority to seek it in some form.