Irene Salter, PhD

For me—and for many servant leaders I know—the very idea of power can feel loaded, even dirty. We skirt around its edges without directly confronting it. As soon as we have power, we give it away. So let’s have an open, honest conversation about it. STORY: Welcome to Part 2 of musings about power! Perhaps you’ve already read Part 1 which discusses external abusive power like what you see in a toxic work environment. In contrast, this post is about internal abusive power… my own. READ MORE: ...

I’ve been thinking a lot about power lately because it’s front and center in the local news right now. But power itself is not the problem. Abusive, fear-based power is. It dehumanizes people and systems. But power can also be used collectively, responsibly, and in defense of humane values. For me, this is personal. As a survivor of bullying and sexual abuse, my pattern is to freeze or fawn (not fight or flee) when confronted with abusive power. But like so many of us, I’m learning to rewire...

We’re all navigating change all the time. Sometimes it’s big and obvious, and sometimes it shows up more quietly but either way, it brings a certain amount of uncertainty. And when we find ourselves facing that uncertainty, our brains don’t just sit back and wait to see what happens next. They get to work, trying to make sense of it all. STORY: Here’s what navigating uncertainty looked like for me recently READ MORE: More regarding cognitive reappraisal BOOK STUFF: We’re meeting next...