Join the dialogue - text your questions, insights, and feedback to The Dignity Lab podcast. Summary In this dose of Dignity, Jennifer explores how power operates in everyday work, family, and community life, emphasizing that power itself is not inherently bad but is the capacity to influence what happens, whose voice counts, and what becomes possible. Drawing on Mary Parker Follett, French and Raven, and Dacher Keltner, she distinguishes “power over” from “power with,” describes multiple forms of power (formal, relational, expertise-based, structural, and moral), and introduces the “power paradox” where empathy-based influence can erode as people feel more powerful. Through concrete leadership examples and a personal power inventory, she invites listeners to reclaim underused power and restrain overused power so that their influence becomes a force for dignity, trust, and shared agency. Takeaways Power is the capacity to influence what happens, whose voice is heard, and what resources move, and it can be used to either protect dignity or erode it.Ethical “power with” is created together and focuses on the needs of the situation, while coercive “power over” seeks to control people.We hold many forms of power, often more than we recognize, including formal, relational, expertise-based, structural, and moral power.The “power paradox” shows that as people feel more powerful, they may listen less, read emotions less accurately, and tilt decisions toward their own preferences.Dignity-centered leadership asks not whether we have power but how our power feels to others and what story it tells about their worth.A personal power inventory can reveal where we are reclaiming helpful influence and where we may be unintentionally causing harm.Reclaiming and restraining power turns influence into a force for good.References and Resources Follett, M. P. (1924). Creative experience. Longmans, Green and Co.Follett, M. P. (1941). Dynamic administration: The collected papers of Mary Parker Follett (H. C. Metcalf & L. Urwick, Eds.). Harper & Brothers. (Original works published 1918–1933).French, J. R. P., Jr., & Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social power (pp. 150–167). University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research.Keltner, D. (2016). The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence. Penguin Press.Raven, B. H. (1992). A power/interaction model of interpersonal influence: French and Raven twenty years later. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 7(2), 217–244. Exploring what it means to live and lead with dignity at work, in our families, in our communities, and in the world. What is dignity? How can we honor the dignity of others? And how can we repair and reclaim our dignity after harm? Tune in to hear stories about violations of dignity and ways in which we heal, forgive, and make choices about how we show up in a chaotic and fractured world. Hosted by physician and coach Jennifer Griggs. For more information on the podcast, please visit www.thedignitylab.com. For more information on podcast host Dr. Jennifer Griggs, please visit https://jennifergriggs.com/. For additional free resources, including the periodic table of dignity elements, please visit https://jennifergriggs.com/resources/. The Dignity Lab is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will receive 10% of the purchase price when you click through and make a purchase. This supports our production and hosting costs. Bookshop.org doesn’t earn money off bookstore sales, all profits go to independent bookstores. We encourage our listeners to purchase books through Bookshop.org for this reason.
